UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


STATE   OF    NEW  YORK 


PRELIMINARY   REPORT 


OF  THE 


FACTORY  INVESTIGATING  COMMISSION 


1  912 


VOLUME    I 


TRANSMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE  MARCH  1.  1912 


ALBANY 

THE  ARGUS  COMPANY.  PRINTERS 
1912 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE. 

I. — Creation  of  Commission 13 

II. — Organization  of  Commission. 14 

III. — Scope  of  the  Investigation 15 

IV. — Importance  of  the  Investigation. 16 

V. — Limitation  of  the  Commission's  Work 20 

VI. — Summary  of  Work  Done  by  the  Commission 22 

1 .  Public  Hearings 22 

2.  Executive  Sessions 23 

3.  Inspections  and  Special  Investigations  Made  by  the  Commission .  23 

a.  General  Sanitary  Investigations 23 

b.  Fire  Hazard  Investigations 24 

c.  Bakery  Investigations 24 

d.  Women's  Trades  Investigations 25 

e.  Volunteer  Investigations 25 

(1)  On  Sanitary  Conditions  in  Factories  and  Manufacturing 

Establishments  in  a  Selected  Area  in  New  York  City  25 

(2)  Lead  Poisoning  in  New  York  City 25 

(3)  Child  Labor  in  the  Tenements 25 

4.  Questionnaire  Issued  by  the  Commission  and  Digest  of  the  Re- 

plies    26 

5.  Briefs  and  Memoranda  Submitted  to  the  Commission 26 

THE  FIRE  HAZARD  IN  FACTORY  BUILDINGS. 

I. — The  Existing  Fire  Problem  in  New  York  City 29 

1.  The  Converted  Dwelling  or  Tenement 30 

2.  The  Loft  Building , 30 

a.  The  Non-fireproof  Loft 31 

6.  The  Fireproof  Loft  Less  than  150  feet  in  Height 32 

c.  The  Fireproof  Loft  More  than  150  feet  in  Height 32 

3.  Danger  to  Life  in  Fireproof  Buildings 33 

II. — The  Existing  Fire  Problem  in  Other  Cities  of  the  State 35 

III. — Enforcement  of  Laws  Relative  to  Fire 36 

1.  In  New  York  City 36 

2.  In  Other  Cities  of  the  State 37 

IV. — Recommendations  of  the  Commission 38 

Prevention  of  Fire 38 

Notification  of  Authorities  in  Case  of  Fire . .  40 


8  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

APPENDICES 

GENERAL  REPORTS 

PAGE. 

I. — GENERAL  SANITARY  INVESTIGATION  OF  EXISTING  CONDITIONS  IN 
FACTORIES  AND  WORKSHOPS  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

Report    Submitted  by  DR.  George  M.  Price 117 

II. — THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

Report  by  H.  F.  J.  Porter,  Esq.,  Industrial  Engineer 153 

SPECIAL  REPORTS 

III. — BAKERIES  IN   NEW  YORK  CITY 

Report  on  the  Inspection  of  497  Bakeries  and  the  Physical 
examination  of  800  Bakers  in  New  York  City,  by  George  M. 
Price,  M.  D " 203 

IV. — WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE 

Notes  on  some  trades  in  New  York  State  employing  a  large 
proportion  of  women  workers,  by  Violet  Pike 271 

V. — NOTES  ON   AN   INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA  IN- 
NEW  YORK  CITY  WITH  RESPECT  TO  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 
By  Pauline  Goldmark,  Associate  Director,  New  York  School  of 
Philanthropy '. 303 

VI. — OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES 

A  preliminary  report  on  Lead  Poisoning  in  the  City  of  New  York, 
with  an  Appendix  on  Arsenical  Poisoning,  by  E.  E.  Pratt,  Ph.  D., 
Associate  Professor  of  Economics  and  Statistics  in  the  New  York 
School  of  Philanthropy 367 

VII. — HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES  OF  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

Memorandum  submitted  by  Owen  R.  Lovejoy,  General  Secre- 
tary National  Child  Labor  Committee 573 

Memorandum    submitted    by    Elizabeth    C.    Watson    of    the 

National  Child  Labor  Committee 581 

Photographs  submitted  by  the  National  Child  Labor  Com- 
mittee, the  Consumers'  League  of  New  York  and  Miss  Lillian  D. 
Wald  of  the  Nurses  Settlement 

VIII.—  QUESTIONNAIKK  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION  AND  DIGEST  OF  REPLIES 

RECEIVED 587 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


IX, — BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  COMMISSION: 

(/)  Fire    Prevention,    Fire-Excape    Facilities    and   Building    Con- 
struction: 

Brief  on  Fire  Prevention  and  Public  Safety,  by  Rudolph  P 
Miller,  Superintendent  of  Buildings,  Borough  of  Man- 
hattan, New  York  City 699 

Memorandum  of  Committee  of  New  York  Chapter  Amer- 
ican Institute  of  Architects  on  Construction  of  Factory 
Buildings  and  the  Fire  Problem 728 

Memorandum  on  the  necessity  for  a  State  Building  Code, 
submitted  by  Robert  D.  Kohn,  Esq.,  architect,  New 
York  City 740 

Comments  on  the  scope  and  provisions  of  the  Sullivan- 
Hoey  Fire-Prevention  Law,  by  Walter  Lindner,  Esq.,  of 
the  New  York  Bar 744 

Statement  of  Thomas  J.  Ahearn,  State  Fire  Marshal,  New 
York 750 

(£)  Factoiy  Inspection,  Accident  Prevention  and  Sanitation: 

Memorandum  submitted  by  Prof.  Henry  R.  Seager,  Presi- 
dent of  the  American  Association  for  Labor  Legislation. .  754 

Brief  submitted  by  John  Calder,  General  Manager  Rem- 
ington Typewriter  Works,  on  Accident  Prevention 758 

Brief  submitted  by  Prof.  W.  Oilman  Thompson,  Cornell 
Medical  School,  on  Classification  of  Occupational  Diseases 
and  Poisoning 765 

(3)  Seven  Day  Labor  Legislation  by  John  A.  Fitch  Esq.,  of  "  The 

Survey" 776 

(4)  Communications 803 

X. — BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  LEGISLATURE 815 


VOLUME    II 

MINUTES  OF  PUBLIC  HEARINGS: 

WITNESSESS  EXAMINED. 
TESTIMONY. 


ACT  CREATING  COMMISSION 

CHAP.  561.     LAWS  OF  1911. 

AN  ACT  to  create  a  commission  to  investigate  the  conditions  under 
which  manufacturing  is  carried  on  in  cities  of  the  first  and 
second  class  in  this  state,  and  making  an  appropriation  therefor. 
Became  a  law  June  30,  1911,  with  the  approval  of  the  Governor. 
Passed,  three-fifths  being  present. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate 
and  Assembly,  do  enact  as  follows: 

Section  1.  A  commission  of  nine  members  is  hereby  created 
consisting  of  two  senators  to  be  appointed  by  the  president  of  tha 
senate,  three  members  of  the  assembly,  and  four  other  mem- 
bers to  be  appointed  by  the  Governor.  Such  commission 
shall  investigate  as  speedily  as  possible  the  existing  conditions 
under  which  manufacture  is  carried  on  in  so-ci?lled  loft 
buildings  and  otherwise  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second 
class  in  the  state,  including  in  such  investigation,  matters  affecting 
the  health  and  safety  of  operatives  as  well  as  the  security  and 
best  interests  of  the  public,  the  character  of  the  buildings  and 
structures  in  which  such  manufacture  or  other  business  takes  place 
and  the  laws  and  ordinances  now  regulating  their  erection,  main- 
tenance and  supervision,  to  the  end,  among  other  things,  that  such 
remedial  legislation  may  be  enacted  as  will  eliminate  existing 
peril  to  the  life  and  health  of  operatives  and  other  occupants  in 
existing  or  new  structures,  and  to  promote  the  best  interests  of 
the  community.  Such  commission  shall  also  have  the  power  to 
inquire  into  the  conditions  under  which  manufacture  takes  place 
in  other  cities  of  this  state  and  country  if  it  shall  so  determine. 

Sec.  2.  The  commission  shall  have  power  to  elect  its  chairman 
and  other  officers,  to  compel  the  attendance  of  witnesses  and  the 
production  of  books  and  papers ;  to  employ  counsel,  a  secretary, 
stenographers  and  all  necessary  clerical  assistants ;  and  shall  other- 
wise have  all  the  powers  of  a  legislative  committee  as  provided 


12  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

by  the  legislative  law,  including  the  adoption  of  rules  for  the 
conduct  of  its  proceedings.  The  members  of  such  commission 
shall  receive  no  compensation  for  their  services,  but  shall  be 
entitled  to  their  actual  and  necessary  expenses  incurred  in  tli-j 
performance  of  their  duties. 

Sec.  3.  Such  commission  shall  make  a  report  of  its  proceedings, 
together  with  its  recommendations,  to  the  legislature  on  or  before 
the  fifteenth  day  of  February,  nineteen  hundred  and  twelve. 

Sec.  4.  The  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,000)  or  so  much 
thereof  as  may  be  needed,  is  hereby  appropriated  for  the  actual  and 
necessary  expenses  of  the  commission  in  carrying  out  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act,  payable  by  the  treasurer  on  the  warrant  of 
the  comptroller,  on  the  order  of  the  chairman  of  such  commis- 
sion. The  commission  may  also  receive  and  expend  for  the  pur- 
poses of  this  act  any  money  contributed  by  voluntary  subscription. 

Sec.  5.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


REPORT 

to  the 
LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 

by  the 

NEW  YORK  STATE  FACTORY  INVESTIGATING  COflMISSlON 
(Chapter  561,  Laws  of  1911) 


To  THE  LEGISLATURE  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK: 

The  Commission  appointed  under  Chapter  561  of  the  Laws  of 
1911,  to  inquire  into  the  conditions  under  which  manufacturing 
is  carried  on  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  of  the  State, 
hereby  submits  the  following  PRELIMINARY  REPORT  : 

CREATION  OF  COMMISSION. 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  March  25,  1911,  a  fire  took  place  in 
the  business  establishment  of  the  Triangle  Waist  Company,  at 
No.  23-29  Washington  Place,  in  the  Borough  of  Manhattan,  City 
of  New  York,  in  which  145  employees,  mainly  women  and  girls, 
lost  their  lives. 

This  shocking  loss  of  life  aroused  the  community  to  a  full  sense 
of  its  responsibility.  A  superficial  examination  revealed  conditions 
in  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  that  constituted  a 
daily  menace  to  the  lives  of  the  thousands  of  working  men.  women 
and  children.  Lack  of  precautions  to  prevent  fire,  inadequate 
fire-escape  facilities,  insanitary  conditions  that  were  insidiously 
undermining  the  health  of  the  workers  were  found  existing  every- 
where. The  need  of  a  thorough  and  extensive  investigation  into 
the  general  conditions  of  factory  life  was  clearly  recognized. 

Public-spirited  citizens  and  representatives  from  the  Fifth 
Avenue  Association  of  the  City  of  New  York,  the  Committee  on 
Safety  of  the  City  of  New  York  and  other  organizations  laid 
these  facts  before  the  Governor  and  Legislature  of  the  State  and 
asked  for  the  appointment  of  a  legislative  commission  to  inquire 
into  the  conditions  under  which  manufacturing  was  carried  on  in 
the  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  of  the  State.  As  a  result, 
the  Act  creating  this  Commission  (Chapter  561  of  the  Laws  of 
1911)  was  passed  and  became  a  law  on  June  30,  1911. 


14  KK.POKT  OK   ( 'OM.MISSION. 

Pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  that  Act,  the  following  Commis- 
sion was  appointed: 

SENATOR  KOBEBT  F.  WAGNER, 
SENATOR  CHARLES  M.  HAMILTON. 

By  the  President  of  the  Senate. 
ASSEMBLYMAN  ALFRED  E.  SMITH, 
ASSEMBLYMAN  EDWARD  D.  JACKSON, 
ASSEMBLYMAN  CYRUS  W.  PHILLIPS. 

By  the  Speaker  of  the  Assembly. 
MR.  SIMON  BRENTANO, 
MR.  ROBERT  E.  DOWLING, 
MR.  SAMUEL  GOMPERS, 
Miss  MARY  E.  DREIER. 

By  the  Governor. 

The  Commission  was  authorized  by  the  Legislature  to  inquiie 
into  the  existing  conditions  under  which  manufacturing  was  car- 
ried on  in  so-called  loft  buildings  and  otherwise,  including  matters 
affecting  the  health  and  safety  of  the  operatives  as  well  as  the 
security  and  best  interests  of  the  public,  the  character  of  the 
buildings  and  structures  in  which  such  manufacturing  and  busi- 
ness takes  place,  and  the  laws  and  ordinances  regulating  their 
erection,  maintenance  and  supervision  so  that,  among  other  things, 
remedial  legislation  might  be  enacted  to  eliminate  existing  peril 
to  life  and  health  of  operatives  and  occupants  in  existing  or  n re- 
structures and  to  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  community. 

The  Commission  was  required  to  report  to  the  Legislature  on 
or  before  the  15th  day  of  February,  1912. 

The  Commission  was  authorized  to  compel  the  attendance  of 
witnesses,  the  production  of  books  and  papers,  and  to  appoint 
counsel,  a  secretary,  stenographers  and  necessary  clerical  assistants. 
and  was  otherwise  to  have  all  the  power?  of  a  legislative  committee. 

The  members  of  the  Commission  were  to  receive  no  compensa- 
tion for  their  services  but  were  to  be  reimbursed  for  their  actual 
and  necessary  expenses.  The  sum  of  $10.000  was  appropriated 
t'«>r  the  expenses  of  the  Commission. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  COMMISSION. 

The  Commission  organized  on  the  17th  day  of  August,  10 II. 
by  electing  Hon  Robert  F.  Wagner,  Chairman,  and  Hon.  Alfred 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  15 

E.  Smith,  Vice-Chairman,  and  by  selecting  Mr.  Frank  A 
Tierney,  as  Secretary.  The  Commission  appointed  Mr.  Abram  I. 
Elkus,  Chief  Counsel,  and  Mr.  Ik-nuinl  L.  Shientag  as  his 
assistant. 

Through  the  generosity  of  the  Committee  on  Safety  of  the  Citv 
of  New  York  and  Mr.  Robert  E.  Bowling,  a  member  of  this  Com- 
mission, offices  were  furnished  to  the  Commission  without  charge. 
for  which  kindness  the  Commission  expresses  its  thanks  and 
appreciation. 

The  Commission  retained  as  its  expert  in  general  charge  of 
the  work  of  inspection  and  sanitation,  Dr.  George  M.  Price,  a 
physician  of  standing,  practising  in  the  City  of  New  York,  who 
had  made  investigations  of  a  similar  nature,  and  who  is  the 
author  of  several  well-known  text-books  on  sanitation. 

Dr.  Price,  immediately  upon  being  retained,  on  September  15, 
1911,  organized  a  corps  of  inspectors  for  field  work  in  the  cities 
of  the  first  and  second  class  of  the  State 

The  Commission  selected  as  its  advisory  expert  on  the  fire 
problem,  Mr.  H.  F.  J.  Porter,  a  mechanical  engineer  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  who  had  made  a  study  of  fire  problems,  had  written 
many  articles  on  the  subject  and  was  known  to  be  conversant 
with  the  situation.  Under  his  supervision,  inspections  were  made 
of  numerous  manufacturing  establishments  with  reference  to  the 
fire  hazard. 

For  the  inspection  work  and  fees  of  the  advisory  experts,  tho 
sum  of  $5,500  was  expended  by  the  Commission.  Both  Mr. 
Porter  and  Dr.  Price  agreed  to  give  their  own  services  for  prac- 
tically nominal  sums,  and  both  devoted  themselves  zealously  to 
the  work  of  the  Commission. 

SCOPE  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION 

The  Commission  was  charged  with  the  duty  of  inquiring  into 
tlie  following  matters : 

1.  Hazard   to  life  because   of  fire:    covering  fire  prevention, 
arrangement  of  machinery,  fire  drills,  inadequate  fire-scapes  and 
exits,  number  of  pereons  employed  in  factories  and  lofts,  etc. 

2.  Danger  to  life  and  health  because  of  insanitary  conditions: 
fontilation,  lighting  and  heating  arrangement,  hours  of  labor,  etc. 


16  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

3.  Occupational  diseases:   industrial  consumption,  lead  poison- 
ing, bone  disease,  etc. 

4.  Proper  and  adequate  inspection  of  factories  and  manufac- 
turing establishments. 

5.  Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses. 

6.  The  present  statutes  and  ordinances  that  deal  with  or  relate 
to  the  foregoing  matters,  and  the  extent  to  which  the  present  laws 
are  enforced. 

The  Commission  was  to  recommend  such  new  legislation  as 
might  be  found  necessary  to  remedy  defects  in  existing  legislation, 
ami  to  provide  for  conditions  at  present  unregulated. 

The  Act  creating  this  Commission  limited  the  scope  of  its 
inquiry  to  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class,  although  the  Com- 
mission was  authorized  to  inquire  into  the  conditions  surrounding 
manufacturing  in  other  cities  of  the  State  and  country  if  it 
should  so  determine. 

IMPORTANCE  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

New  York  is  the  first  State  in  the  Union  to  authorize  a 
general  investigation  of  the  conditions  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments within  its  borders.  Several  other  States  have  appointed 
commissions  which  were  limited  in  the  scope  of  their  investiga- 
tions, such  as  the  Illinois  Commission  on  the  subject  of  occupa- 
tional diseases,  the  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Factory  Inspec- 
tion and  the  various  Commissions  on  accident  prevention  and 
employers'  liability.  It  remained  for  the  State  of  New  York  to 
lead  the  way  with  an  investigation  of  factory  conditions  general 
in  its  scope  and  character. 

According  to  the  preliminary  report  of  the  Census  of  1910 
there  were  1,003,981  men,  women  and  children  employed  in  the 
factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  of  New  York  State. 
This  is  the  average  of  the  number  employed  during  the  year.  The 
Commissioner  of  Labor  gives  the  number  of  such  employees  as 
"\-er  1,250,000.  The  following  schedule  from  the  United  States 
Census  Report  of  1910  shows  the  number  of  establishments,  the 
capital  employed,  cost  of  materials  used,  salaries  paid,  value  of 
products  and  number  of  wage  earners  and  clerks  in  the  cities  of 
the  first  and  second  cla^s  in  the  State,  together  with  their  totals: 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 


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1  ^  IlKl'ORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

In  addition  to  the  actual  wage  earners  concerned,  the  Commis- 
sion's inquiry  bears  indirectly  upon  the  millions  of  women  and 
children  who  compose  the  families  of  these  workers  and  are 
dependent  upon  them  for  support. 

Health  is  the  principal  asset  of  the  working  man  and  the 
working  woman.  The  State  is  bound  to  do  everything  in  its 
power  to  preserve  the  health  of  the  workers  who  contribute  so 
materially  to  its  economic  wealth  and  its  industrial  prosperity. 

Aside  from  the  humanitarian  aspect  of  the  situation,  economic 
considerations  demand  from  the  State  the  careful  supervision  and 
protection  of  its  woikers.  Failure  to  perform  this  obligation 
will  produce  serious  results  in  the  worker?  of  tlio  future.  It  will 
affect  the  working  capacity  of  the  future  generation. 

The  State  not  only  possesses  the  power  and  the  right,  but 
it  is  charged  with  the  sacred  duty  of  seeing  that  the  worker  is 
properly  safeguarded  in  case  of  fire;  that  he  is  protected  from 
accidents  caused  by  neglect  or  indifference;  that  proper  precau- 
tions are  taken  to  prevent  poisoning  by  the  materials  and  pro- 
cesses of  his  industry,  and  that  he  works  under  conditions 
conducive  to  good  health,  and  not  such  as  breed  disease. 

Indifference  to  these  matters  reflects  grossly  upon  the  present 
day  civilization,  and  it  is  regrettable  that  our  State  and  national 
legislation  on  the  subject  of  industrial  hygiene  compares  so  un- 
favorably with  that  of  other  countries. 

Factory  workers  particularly  need  protection  and  supervision. 
Among  them  disease  more  easily  finds  its  victims  than  amonc 
other  classes  of  workers.  Every  epidemic  has  drawn  most  of  its 
victims  from  the  working  classes.  Statistics  show  the  greater 
mortality  of  those  engaged  in  factory  work,  as  compared  with 
those  in  other  occupations. 


death  rates  of  males  per  1,000,  according  to  occupations  for 
registration  states  (12th  Census,  U.  S.,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  cclxi).  are  ts 
follows  : 

Mercantile  and  Trading  ......................  12.1 

Clerical  and  Official   .........................  13.5 

Professional  ................................  15.3 

Laboring  and  Servant  .......................  20.2 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  19 

York  has  already  expended  great  sums  of  money  to  con- 
serve its  natural  resources.  The  conservation  of  human  life,  the 
ni<>st  valuable  of  all  things,  has  received  but  little  attention.  The 
appointment  of  this  Commission  was  the  first  comprehensive 
attempt  to  investigate  the  waste  of  human  life  in  our  modern 
industrial  sy-fem,  and  to  endeavor  to  devise  means  to  prevent  such 
a  sacrifice,  >nrely  a  matter  of  equal  importance  to  the  preservation 
of  forests  am!  >t reams. 

Fires  and  industrial  accidents  are  fortunately  only  occasional 
ami  extraordinary  events.  Their  effects  are  visible  and  immediate 
so  they  are  impressed  forcibly  upon  our  minds.  But  the  common, 
everyday  incidents  of  industrial  life,  the  Lack  of  ventilation,  the 
lonir  hours  of  labor  amid  insanitary  surroundings,  the  failure  to 
liivc  notice  to  employees  of  the  dangers  of  their  occupations  and 
how  to  avoid  them,  these  work  unnoticed,  but  the  toll  of  human 
life  they  exact  is  very  great. 

The  illness  and  diseases  caused  by  these  conditions  can  in  large 
men-lire  he  prevented,  and  prevention  is  always  better  than  cure 
and  less  co.-tly.  In  his  report  on  National  Vitality,  Professor 
Irving  Fisher  shows  that  the  economic  gain  to  the  nation  that 
would  result  from  proper  precaution  to  prevent  sickness  and  dis- 
ea-e,  would  amount  to  at  least  $500,000,000  per  annum. 

A  New  York  State  manufacturer  testified  before  the  Commis- 
sion that  he  had  installed  a  great  many  sanitary  improvements 
and  labor-saving  devices  tending  to  the  comfort  of  his  employees. 
He  expressly  disclaimed  any  philanthropical  motives  in  so  doing, 
but  said  it  was  a  decided  benefit  to  him  in  his  business  from  a 
purely  doHars-and'-cents  standpoint. 

During  the  past  few  decades  methods  of  protecting  machinery 
in  use  have  been  vastly  improved.  Labor-saving  de\ices  have 
been  introduced  everywhere,  but  much  remains  to  be  done  by  the 
manufacturer  to  conserve  the  most  valuable  of  all  assets  —  the 
working  man  and  the  working  woman.  It  cannot  be  said  that 
this  waste  is  the  result  of  intentional  wrongdoing.  It  has  simply 
been  nobody's  business,  and  therefore  has  been  neglected  and 
unheeded. 


20  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

The  investigation  has  already  produced  results.  In  many  cases 
the  manufacturers  themselves  were  unaware  of  the  conditions 
under  which  they  required  their  employees  to  work,  or  if  indeed 
thev  were  aware  of  these  conditions,  did  not  realize  their  evil 

»/  ' 

effects.    Many  did  not  know  what  could  be  done  to  improve  them. 
They  took  these  conditions  as  a  matter  of  course. 

The  authorities  in  many  cities,  because  of  the  publicity  of  the 
Commission's  inquiry,  began  special  investigations,  which  resulted 
in  many  cases  in  improved  conditions.  The  educational  value  of 
the  Commission,  therefore,  has  been  very  great.  The  manufac- 
turers who  had  not  only  complied  with  the  provisions  of  the  law, 
but  had  gone  beyond  ite  requirements,  should  feel  rewarded  by  the 
contrast  which  was  shown. 

A  general  awakening  has  taken  place  throughout  the  State.  A 
far  larger  number  of  inspections  by  authorities  have  been  made 
than  ever  before.  No  great  reliance,  however,  can  be  placed  upon 
such  a  momentary  or  spasmodic  awakening.  When  its  cause  is  no 
longer  present,  conditions  relapse  into  their  former  state,  and  there 
is  little  real  improvement. 

To  improve  the  industrial  situation  permanently,  clear,  concise 
and  comprehensive  legislation  is  needed. 

LIMITATIONS  OF  THE  COMMISSION'S  WORK. 

At  the  outset  it  became  clear  that  to  carry  out  the  mandate 
of  the  Legislature  would  require  far  more  time  than  was  at  the 
disposal  of  the  Commission. 

Tt  would  have  been  impossible,  even  if  the  Commission  had 
devoted  every  hour  of  time  since  the  passage  of  the  Act,  to  touch 
more  than  a  portion  of  its  work.  Of  the  248  industries  in  the 
State  only  20  could  be  partially  covered  in  its  investigations. 

Governor  Dix  in  his  last  annual  message  to  the  Legislature, 
said: 

"  It  is  clear  that  it  has  been  impossible  for  the  Commis- 
sion, in  the  short  time  at  its  disposal,  to  complete  its  labors, 
although  its  members  have  worked  most  diligently  and 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  21 

energetically,  and  I  therefore  suggest  to  the  Legislature 
that  the  time  of  the  Commission  be  extended  at  least  one 
year,  and  that  sufficient  appropriation  be  made  to  meet  its 
necessary  expenditures. 

It  appears  that  conditions  in  manufacturing  similar  to 
those  which  have  been  shown  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and 
second  class  exist  in  other  cities  and  localities  of  the  State, 
and  that  in  the  interest  of  the  citizens  the  scope  of  the  inves- 
tigation should  be  broadened  so  as  to  cover  the  entire  State, 
and  all  establishments  where  workingmen  and  working- 
women  are  employed." 

There  is  always  a  temp  cation  where  conditions  are  disclosed 
which  seem  to  need  remedying  to  make  recommendations  for 
legislation,  but  the  Commission  has  felt  that  hasty  and  ill- 
considered  legislation  is  worse  than  none,  and  in  many  cases  con- 
siders the  remedy  to  be  the  proper  and  efficient  enforcement  of 
existing  laws.  The  testimony  given  shows  conclusively  that  the 
these  laws  are  not  adequately  enforced.  The  authority  responsi- 
ble for  conditions  should  be  given  sufficient  power  to  compel  a 
speedy  compliance  with  its  orders,  and  that  power  should  be  exer- 
cised promptly  and  effectively.  In  the  enactment  of  new  laws, 
proper  means  should  be  provided  for  their  complete  enforcement. 

Mindful,  however,  of  the  obligation  upon  it  to  recommend 
remedial  legislation,  the  Commission  has  made  such  recommenda- 
tions wherever  it  has  felt  itself  competent  to  do  so. 

The  Commission  considered  it  its  duty  to  devote  the  larger  part 
of  its  time  to  ascertaining  all  the  facts  with  reference  to  the  fire 
hazard  problem  so  that  it  could  make  recommendations  as  com- 
prehensive as  was  permissible  on  that  subject  for  existing  factory 
buildings.  With  reference  to  buildings  to  'be  hereafter  erected,  the 
Commission  limits  itself  to  a  few  general  recommendations. 

If  its  continuance  in  office  is  extended,  the  Commission  hopes, 
among  other  things,  to  prepare  and  submit  to  the  Legislature  a 
Building  Code  for  industrial  establishments  within  the  State  of 
New  York.  The  necessity  for  such  a  Building  Code  has  been 
recognized  by  all  who  have  considered  the  subject.  There  should 
be  no  great  discrimination  between  the  requirements  for  manu- 


•2 '2  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

facturiug  establishments  ill  the  different  cities  and  towns.  Certain 
basic  rules  as  to  construction  can  readily  be  made  which  should 
govern  throughout  the  entire  State. 

The  Commission  devoted  much  of  its  time  to  an  investiga- 
tion of  cellar  bakeries,  in  view  of  the  conditions  disclosed  in  the 
City  of  Xe\v  York.  The  Commission  has  therefore  been  able  to 
make  recommendations  for  the  improvement  of  existing  bakeries,' 
and  for  the  proper  maintenance  of  those  to  be  opened  in  the  future. 

As  to  sanitation  in  factories,  the  Commission  recognizes  that 
it  has  only  begun  its  labors,  and  therefore  makes  only  a  few 
recommendations  under  this  heading.  Likewise  the  Commission 
has  made  only  a  very  general  investigation  of  the  adequacy  of  the 
present  system  of  factory  inspection.  Because  of  lack  of  time,  it 
has  been  able  to  give  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  only  a  brief 
hearing,  but  it  has  examined  a  number  of  the  inspectors  employed 
in  the  department. 

The  Commission  has  likewise  been  able  to  make  but  a  brief  in- 
vestigation into  the  subjects  of  child  labor,  manufacturing  in  tene- 
ment houses,  and  the  employment  of  women.  Far  more  time  is 
needed  for  a  thorough  study  of  these  subjects,  and  practically  all 
of  the  witnesses  who  testified  before  the  Commission  recommended 
its  continuance  for  tihat  purpose. 

SUMMARY  OF  WORK  DONE  BY  THE  COMMISSION. 
1.  PUBLIC  HEARINGS. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  sessions  of  the  Legislature  continued 
until  the  month  of  October,  1911,  and  that  most  of  the  Commis- 
sioners were  members  of  the  Legislature,  it  was  not  until  October 
14,  1911,  that,  the  first  public  hearing  of  the  Commission  could  be 
held. 

There  were  fourteen  public  hearing  in  thr  city  of  ~K&w  York 
and  eight  public  hearings  in  the  cities  of  Buffalo,  Rochester, 
Syracuse,  Utica,  Schenectady  and  Troy.  The  sessions  in  these 
cities  began  at  9 :30  in  the  morning  and  lasted  until  late  &t  night. 
222  witnesses  testified,  and  3,489  pages  of  testimony  were  taken. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  23 

The  Commission  endeavored  to  have  before  it  as  witnesses 
persons  from  all  walks  of  life,  including  city  and  State  officials, 
exports  upon  the  different  problems  under  consideration,  manu- 
fa<-turers  and  working-men,  women  and  children,  able  to  testify 
concerning  the  conditions  in  the  factories  and  manufacturing 
f-t;il>lis'lnnents  of  the  State;  officers  of  labor  organizations  and 
memlxTs  of  other  associations,  interested  in  the  matters  under 
investigation. 

A  transcript  of  the  testimony  taken  is  submitted  vvith  this 
report. 

2.  EXECUTIVE  SESSIONS  OF  COMMISSION. 

The  Commission  as  a  whole  held  fifteen  executive  sessions,  and 
its  sub-committees  appointed  to  consider  various  matters  also  held 
several  meetings.  The  Commission  in  executive  session  discussed 
with  Prof.  John  R.  Commons,  a  member  of  the  Wisconsin  Indus- 
trial Commission,  the  formation,  scope,  and  operation  of  the 
Wisconsin  Commission,  and  to  what  extent  the  system  of  factory 
inspection  and  supervision  now  obtaining  in  that  State  could  be 
applied  here.  Prof.  Commons  came  to  New  York  at  the  Com- 
mission's request,  and  the  Commission  desires  to  express  its 
gratitude  to  him  for  his  courtesy. 

3.  INSPECTIONS  AND  SPECIAL  INVESTIGATIONS  MADE  BY  THE 
COMMISSION. 

a.  GENERAL  SANITARY  INVESTIGATIONS. 

One  thousand  eight  hundred  and  thirty-six  industrial  establish- 
ments in  the  various  cities  of  the  State  were  inspected  by  a  staff 
of  from  eight  to  ten  inspectors  engaged  in  field  work  for  a  period 
of  five  weeks.  Twenty  industries  were  covered. 

Of  the  total  number  of  factories,  1,636  were  located  in  the 
<  iiy  of  New  York  and  employed  in  all  41,891  men,  women  and 
children.  One  hundred  and  nine  manufacturing  establishments 
were  investigated  in  the  cities  of  Buffalo,  Rochester,  Syracuse, 
Utica,  Schenectaidy  and  Troy,  employing  12,977  persons.  The  fol- 
lowing industries  were  among  those  investigated:  printing,  tobacco, 


24  RKPORT  OK  COMMISSION. 

chemicals,  bread,  candy,  ice  cream,  pickles,  spices  and  drugs,  sugar 
refineries,  mineral  waters,  meat  packing,  artificial  flowers,  paper 
boxes,  clothing,  corks,  rags,  textiles,  human  hair,  cleaning  and 
dyeing.  The  investigations  were  made  with  reference  to  the  ii'en- 
cral  sanitary  conditions  in  those  manufacturing  establishments; 
covering  cleanliness,  sanitary  conveniences,  ventilation,  light,  etc. 

The  preliminary  report  of  Dr.  Price,  setting  forth  in  detail  the 
work  which  was  done  under  his  supervision,  and  the  results  and 
statistics  obtained,  is  annexed  to  and  form-  a  part  of  this  report, 
and  is  marked  Appendix  1. 

6.  FIRE  HAZARD  INVESTIGATIONS. 

A  general  inspection  of  factories  and  manufacturing  establish- 
ments was  made  to  ascertain  existing  conditions  with  reference 
to  the  fire  hazard  and  the  remedies  to  be  suggested  to  improve 
the  same. 

Several  hundred  inspections  were  made  under  the  supervision 
of  Mr.  Porter,  with  the  a--i-taiice  of  a  corps  of  inspectors,  in  the 
cities  of  the  first  and  second  class.  Mr.  Porter's  report  is  annexed 
to  and  forms  a  part  of  this  report,  and  is  marked  Appendix  2. 

c.  BAKERY   INVESTIGATIONS. 

An  investigation  of  500  bakeries  in  the  City  of  New  York  and 
elsewhere  was  made  under  the  supervision  of  Dr.  Price.  A  special 
feature  of  the  investigation  was  the  physical  examination  made 
by  a  medical  staff  in  the  employ  of  the  Commission  of  800  bakers 
in  the  bake-shops  during  working  hours.  This  examination 
occupied  four  weeks,  and  was  made  with  the  assistance  of  officials 
of  the  Bakers'  Union  of  New  York  City. 

A  special  report  on  the  sanitary  conditions  in  bakeries  and 
the  physical  condition  of  those  employed  therein  was  submitted 
to  tln>  Commission  by  Dr.  Price,  is  annexed  hereto  and  forms  a 
part  of  this  report,  and  is  marked  Appendix  3. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  25 

d.   WOMEN'S  TRADES  INVESTIGATIONS. 

It  was  found  that  in  six  of  the  trades  inspected  under  Dr. 
Price's  >npervision  over  sixty  per  cent,  of  those  employed  were 
AVI  mien  and  girls.  A  report  entitled  "  Notes  on  trades  employing 
a  large  proportion  of  women  workers  in  New  York  State  "  is 
annexed  to  and  form?  a  part  of  this  report,  and  is  marked 
Appendix  4. 

e.  VOLUNTEER  INVESTIGATIONS. 

(1)  ON    SANITARY   CONDITIONS   IN    FACTORJKS  AND    MANTKAC- 
TfRiXG  ESTABLISH  MI:  NTS  IN  A  SELECTED  AREA  IN  NEW  YORK. — 
This  report  was  prepared  by  Miss  Pauline  Goldmark.  Associate 
Director  of  the  School  of  Philanthropy  of  the  City  of  New  York. 
Investigations  were  conducted  in  the  district  between  34th  and 
53rd     street,     extending     from     8th     avenue     to     the     Hudson 
River,  in  the  Borough   of   Manhattan,   New    York   city.     Three 
hundred    and    twenty-three   factories    were    investigated,    giving 
employment    to    10,750    men,    women    and    children.       Fifteen 
separate    industries    were    carefully    investigated.       Miss    Gold- 
mark's     report     entitled     "Notes     on     an     Industrial     Suvrey 
in  a  Selected  Area  in  New  York  City  with  respect  to  Sanitary 
Conditions  in  Factories  "  is  annexed  to  and  made  a  part  of  this 
report,  and  marked  Appendix  5. 

(2)  LEAD  POISONING. —  A  preliminary   investigation  of  lead 
and    arsenical    poisoning    was    conducted    by    Dr.  E.  E.  Pratt, 
Associate  Professor  of  Economics  in  the  School  of  Philanthropy, 
with  the  assistance  of  fellows  and  students  of  the  school;   275 
cases  of  lead  poisoning  were  traced.     Dr.   Pratt's  report,  illus- 
trating the  different  processes  which  may  result  in  lead  poisoning 
and  detailing  the  histories  of  78  cases,  is  annexed  to  and  form? 
a  part  of  this  report,  and  is  marked  Appendix  6. 

(  '.}, )   PRELIMINARY  REPORT  ON  CHILD  LABOR  IN  THE  TENEMENTS. 

I'nder  the  auspices  of  the  Commission,  Mr.  Owen  R.  Lovejoy 
and  Miss  Elizabeth  C.  Watson,  of  the  National  Child  Labor  Com- 
mittee, conducted  an  investigation  into  the  employment  of  children 


26  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

in  home  work  in  tenement  houses  in  Xew  York  city.  The  report 
and  photographs  made,  showing  actual  conditions  under  which 
children  are  employed  in  tenement  houses,  are  annexed  to  and 
form  a  part  of  this  report,  and  are  marked  Appendix  7. 

The  Commission  takes  this  opportunity  to  express  its  gratitude 
for  the  care  and  thoroughness  with  which  these  volunteer  investi- 
gations were  conducted.  The  results  of  the  investigations  are 
most  valuable  contributions  to  the  work  of  the  Commission. 

4.  QUESTIONS AIKE  ISSUED  BY  THE  COMMISSION. 

The  Commission  issued  a  Questionnaire  asking  for  suggestions 
for  the  improvement  of  the  conditions  under  which  manufactur- 
ing is  carried  on.  A  copy  of  the  Questionnaire,  together  with  a 
digest  of  the  many  replies  received,  is  annexed  to  and  form?  a 
part  of  this  report,  and  is  marked  Appendix  8. 

5.  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  COMMIS- 
SION.—  The  thanks  of  the  Commission  are  due  to  public-spirited 
citizens  and  organizations  who  submitted  important  briefs  and 
memoranda  on  the  subjects  under  consideration.  Copies  of  these 
briefs  and  memoranda  are  annexed  to  and  form  a  part  of  this 
report,  and  are  marked  Appendix  9. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  27 


GENERAL  OUTLINE  OF  THE  REPORT 

1.  The  Fire  Hazard. 

2.  Factory  Inspection. 

3.  Sanitation  of  Factories  and  Manufacturing  Establishments. 

4.  Occupational  Diseases. 

5.  Bakeries. 

6.  Manufacturing  in  Tenements. 

7.  Employment  of  Women. 

8.  Child  Labor. 

9.  Foundries. 


28  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD  IN  FACTORY  BUILDINGS 

It  has  long  been  known  that  there  are  many  more  fires  in  the 
cities  of  the  United  States  than  in  the  cities  of  the  same  size  in 
Europe.  There  the  fires  are  not  only  lees  frequent,  but  are  also 
far  less  destructive.  In  this  country  fires  occur  almost  hourly  in 
which  large  amounts  of  property  are  destroyed  and  lives  are  lost. 

Testimony  presented  to  the  Commission  shows  that  in  the  city 
of  New  York  alone,  there  is  an  average  lose  of  one  life  a  day.  by 
fire.  Our  public  machinery  for  extinguishing  fires,  especially  in 
the  larger  cities,  is  remarkably  efficient,  yet  this  loss  of  life  und 
property  continues  to  grow. 

According  to  Geological  Survey  Bulletin  No.  418: 

"  The  actual  fire  losses  due  to  the  destruction  of  buildings 
and  their  contents  amounted  (in  1907,  the  latest  year  for 
which  statistics  are  available)  to  $215,084,709,  a  per  capita 
loss  for  the  United  States  of  $2.51.  The  per  capita  losses 
in  the  cities  of  the  six  leading  European  countries  amounted 
to  but  33  cents,  or  about  one-eighth  of  the  per  capita  loss 
sustained  in  the  United  States." 

The  Hon.  Walter  L.  Fisher,  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  in  an 
address  before  the  Fifteenth  Annual  Meeting  of  the  National  Fire 
Protection  Association,  states  the  situation  admirably: 

"  If  the  Government  should  suddenly  lay  an  annual  tax  of 
$2.51  on  every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  United  States 
on  a  promise  of  spending  the  money  for  some  useful  pur- 
pose, that  promise  would  not  avail  against  the  storm  of 
protest  which  would  be  aroused.  Nevertheless,  a  tax  which 
in  the  aggregate  amounts  to  that  is  being  paid  by  the  people 
of  this  country.  It  is  the  annual  fire  loss  of  the  nation  upon 
buildings  and  their  contents  alone.  It  is  expended  not  in 
productive  enterprise,  but  in  death  and  destruction,  and  an 
even  larger  sum  is  annually  expended  upon  fire  protection 
and  insurance  premiums.  Xot  only  is  this  property  loss  paid 
by  our  people,  but,  in  addition,  annually  1,500  persons  give 
up  their  lives,  and  nearly  6,000  are  injured  in  fires. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  29 

Possibly  in  no  other  direction  is  the  national  habit  of  waste 
more  clearly  exemplified  than  in  the  comparative  indiffer- 
ence with  which  we  permit  such  a  sacrifice.  In  no  other 
civilized  countrv  are  conditions  so  bad  as  they  are  here. 

It  seems  ridiculous  that  a  people  so  apt  and  so  eager  to 
seek  out  and  destroy  the  mysterious  and  hidden  enemies  of 
mankind  should  be  so  slow  and  sluggish  in  fighting  a  foe  so 
plainly  in  sight  and  so  readily  vanquished.  We  have  led 
the  world  in  seeking  out  the  causes  of  pestilence  and  remov- 
ing them.  We  are  in  the  very  vanguard  of  the  battle 
against  tuberculosis,  typhoid  and  yellow  fever,  and  still  we 
stand  apart  and  let  the  older  nations  lead  the  fight  against 
an  enemy  much  more  easily  conquered." 

The  consideration  of  the  fire  hazard  problem  is  divided  into  two 
parts: 

1st.  Investigation  of  conditions  in  existing  factory  buildings,  and 
recommendations  to  render  those  premises  safe. 

2nd.  Requirements  for  future  construction  of  factory  buildings 
which  will  reduce  the  fire  hazard. 

Factory  buildings  may  be  classified  as  special  factories  or  build- 
ings especially  constructed  for  manufacturing  purposes,  generally 
occupied  by  one  or  two  establishments,  loft  buildings,  which  may 
b"  fireproof  or  non-fireproof,  and  dwellings  or  tenements  orig- 
inally erected  for  living  purposes',  'but  which  have  l>een  converted 
into  factories. 

I. —  THE  EXISTING  FIRE   PROBLEM  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

Five  kinds  of  buildings  are  used  for  factory  purposes  in  the 
Ciry  of  Xew  York. 

I.  The  converted  tenement  or  dwelling. 

II.  The  non-fireproof  loft  building. 

III.  The  fireproof  loft  building  less  than  150  feet  in  height. 

IV.  The  fireproof  loft  building  over  150  feet  in  height. 


30  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

V.  The  factory  building  proper,  constructed  for  factory  pur- 
poses and  occupied  by  one  establishment,  which  may  be  fireproof  or 
non-fireproof. 

Three  of  the  above  types  are  especially  dangerous  when  used  as 
factory  buildings.  These  are  (1st)  the  converted  dwelling  or  tene- 
ment house  which  was  never  intended  to  be  used  for  business  pur- 
poses above  the  ground  floor;  (2nd)  the  non-fireproof  loft  building-, 
usually  six  or  seven  stories  high;  and  (3rd)  the  fireproof  loft 
building  less  than  150  feet  in  height. 

1.  THE  CONVERTED  DWELLING  OR  TENEMENT. 

Owing  to  the  increase  in  land  values  and  change  in  the  resi- 
dence localities,  a  number  of  buildings  formerly  used  for  living 
purposes  have  been  made  over  into  factories.  The  buildings  are 
from  four  to  six  stories  in  height,  usually  25  feet  wide  by  about 
60  to  85  feet  deep.  The  exterior  walls  are  brick  or  stone,  the  floors, 
interior  trim,  stairways,  beams  and  doors  are  of  wood.  The  stair- 
ways are  usually  from  two  to  three  feet  in  width,  the  doors  often 
open  inward;  there  are  no  automatic  sprinkler  systems,  no  fire 
prevention  or  extinguishing  appliances  except  fire  pails,  which  are 
not  always  preserved  for  fire  purposes;  the  workrooms  are  divided 
by  wooden  partitions  and  crowded  with  employees,  while  the  ma- 
chines are  placed  as  close  together  as  space  will  permit,  without 
regard  to  means  of  exit.  There  are  exterior  fire-escapes  with  bal- 
conies on  each  floor,  connected  by  vertical  ladders  (those  of  later 
construction  by  inclined  stairways),  which  usually  lead  to  a  yard 
in  the  rear  of  the  premises,  or  to  some  blind  alley  from  which 
there  is  no  means  of  escape.  There  is  ordinarily  a  ladder  from  the 
lowest  balcony  to  the  ground,  but  it  is  generally  not  in  place,  or 
very  difficult  to  use  in  case  of  fire  because  of  its  weight.  There  is 
usually  but  one  door  leading  from  the  street. 

Here  we  have  a  type  of  building  constructed  for  dwelling  pur- 
poses only,  in  which  the  number  of  occupants  is  multiplied  any 
number  of  times  without  any  change  in  the  exit  facilities  provided, 

2.    THE    LOFT    BUILDING. 

The  lofr  luiililing  marks  an  evolution  in  the  construction  of  fac- 
tory buildings  in  the  City  of  NC\v  York.  The  first  lofts  were  built 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  31 

about  twenty-rive  \\-ars  ago,  for  the  storing  and  sale  of  merchan- 
dise, but  the  manufacturer  soon  found  it  desirable  to  have  his  goods 
manufactured  in  workrooms  adjacent  to  his  salesroom  and  directly 
under  his  supervision. 

Increase  in  land  values,  moreover,  forced  the  manufacturer  to 
extend  upwards  instead  of  spreading  out  horizontally.  The  avail- 
ability of  the  loft  for  manufacturing  purposes  was  soon  appre- 
ciated, and  to-day  this  type  of  building  i=  generally  used  for  fac- 
tory purposes. 

(a)  The  Non-Fireproof  Loft  Building. 

The  non-fireproof  loft  building  is  usually  six  or  seven  stories  in 
height,  25  feet  wide  by  80  feet  in  depth,  with  brick,  stone  or  iron 
fronts  and  rears,  brick  side  walls,  wooden  floors  and  wooden  trim. 
There  is  usually  one  unenclosed  wooden  stairway,  varying  in  width 
from  two  to  three  and  one-half  feet,  and  often  winding  around  the 
elevator  shaft.  Wooden  doors  lead  to  the  stairways;  very  often  the 
doors  open  inwardly.  These  buildings,  as  a  rule,  possess  exerior 
fire-escapes  similar  to  those  found  on  the  converted  tenement  de- 
scribed above.  Usually  every  floor  in  these  buildings  is  occupied 
by  a  different  tenant,  in  some  cases  tihere  being  two  or  more 
tenants  on  each  floor.  The  tenant  uses  the  floor,  or  his  portion  of 
it,  as  salesroom,  office  and  factory,  dividing  one  from  the  other  by 
wooden  partitions.  In  the  manufacturing  part  there  are  usually 
a  number  of  machines  placed  as  close  together  as  possible  with 
little  aisle  space  between.  These  buildings  are  to  be  found  in 
numbers  on  the  lower  east  and  west  side.  The  number  of  people 
permitted  to  work  on  a  floor  is  restricted  only  by  a  provision  of 
the  Labor  Law  which  provides  a  minimum  of  250  cubic  feet  of 
air  space  per  person  and  entirely  disregards  the  floor  area.  As 
the  distance  between  floor  and  ceiling  is  at  least  ten  feet,  and 
often  more,  this  cubic  air  space  is  easily  obtained  without  any 
appreciable  prevention  of  overcrowding  and  congestion.  The 
present  law  does  not  require  the  posting  of  the  number  of  people 
allowed  even  by  this  standard,  and  so  prosecutions  for  violations 
of  this  law  are  practically  unknown.  These  buildings  usually  do 
not  contain  any  automatic  sprinklers.  They  have  fire  pails,  which 
are  rarely  kept  for  the  proper  purpose.  A  few  of  them  have  stand- 
pipes,  with  hose  which  is  often  useless. 


32  REPORT  OK  COMMISSION. 

(b)   The  Fireproof  Loft  linilding  Less  than  150  Feet  High. 

The  fireproof  loft  building  less  than  150  feet  in  height,  that  is, 
about  12  stories  or  under,  has  brick,  stone  or  metal  exterior  walk, 
wooden  floors  and  trim,  stairways  of  metal  or  stone  and.  elevators. 
Stairways  are  generally  about  three  feet  wide,  enclosed  by  fireproof 
walls.  These  buildings  are  either  25,  50,  75  or  100  feet  wide  by  85 
to  200  feet  in  depth,  the  usual  size  being  50  by  80  or  90  feet. 
The  conditions  of  occupancy  as  to  tenants  are  similar  to  those  in 
the  non-fireproof  loft  buildings  just  described.  The  Triangle 
Waist  Company  occupied  a  building  of  this  type  at  23-29  Wash- 
ington place.  That  building,  in  its  construction  and  interior, 
is  typical  of  the  so-called  fireproof  loft  buildings,  and  indeed 
much  better  than  hundreds  of  buildings  used  for  similar  pur- 
poses in  New  York  city  to-day.  Some  of  these  buildings  have 
automatic  sprinkler  systems.  They  are  usually  provided  with 
stand  pipes,  connected  with  the  city  water  supply,  and  have 
on  each  floor  a  hose  of  required  length,  and  some  are  provided 
with  exterior  fire-escapes.  It  is  to  'be  noted  that  in  these 
buildings  the  elevators  are  used  to  go  from  the  street  to  the  upper 
floors  not  only  by  the  employers  but  'by  the  employees.  In  most 
cases  the  latter  are  absolutely  unaware  of  the  location  of  the  stair- 
ways. Auxiliary  fire  appliances  are  present  in  most  cases,  but 
their  existence  is  unknown  to  the  workers  and  no  care  is  given  to 
their  preservation.  The  interior  arrangements  are  similar  to 
those  existing  in  the  non-fireproof  loft  building,  the  same  wooden 
partitions,  the  same  congestion  and  doors  opening  inwardly. 

Testimony  shows  that  the  danger  in  these  so-called  fireproof 
buildings  results  from  the  uso  of  wood  for  floors,  doors  and  trim. 
The  buildings  are  usually  of  such  a  height  that  the  Fire  De- 
partment ladders  and  extensions,  and  even  the  water  towers,  do 
not  reach  the  upper  stories.  Fire  occurring  in  these  places  under 
conditions  of  manufacture  which  are  hereafter  described  usually 
results  in  the  destruction  of  the  entire  contents  of  the  building, 
while  walls  and  floors  remain  substantially  intact. 

(c)  The  Fireproof  Loft  Building  More  than  150  Feet  in  Height. 

This  building  is  more  than  twelve  stories  in  height.  The  walls 
are  of  brick,  stone  or  metal,  the  floors  are  of  cement  or  stone,  the 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  33 

trim  and  doors  are  of  metal  or  fire-resisting  material,  the  stairways 
are  of  stone  or  metal,  and  enclosed  by  fireproof  walls.  There  are 
usually  several  stairways  and  elevators.  The  buildings  are  some- 
times supplied  with  automatic  sprinkler  systems  and  have  stand- 
pipes  to  which  hose  is  connected  on  each  floor,  and  other  appli- 
ances for  extinguishing  fires.  In  addition,  these  buildings  some- 
times have  exterior  stairways  leading  either  to  the  street  or  to  the 
ground  in  the  rear.  The  buildings  are  usually  50,  75  or  100  feet 
or  more  in  width  and  are  from  75  to  200  feet  deep.  They  are 
occupied  for  manufacturing  and  other  purposes,  and  sometimes  one 
tenant  is  found  to  occupy  more  than  one  floor.  In  these  buildings, 
if  a  fire  occurs,  it  is  usually  confined  to  the  floor  on  which  it  starts, 
since  it  cannot  burn  up  or  down  except  through  the  windows. 

Above  the  sixth  floor  these  buildings  are  open  to  the  same  objec- 
tions as  are  fireproof  buildings  less  than  150  feet  high,  namely 
the  upper  floors  cannot  be  reached  by  the  firemen.  The  exit 
facilities  are  usually  well  constructed,  but  the  number  of  people 
who  occupy  these  buildings  is  not  determined  by  either  exits, 
width  of  stairways,  or  floor  space.  The  only  restriction  is,  as  in  all 
other  buildings,  the  250  cubic  feet  of  air  space  provision.  The 
distance  between  the  floors  is  usually  10  to  15  feet,  so  the  cubic 
air  space  may  fulfil  the  legal  requirement  while  the  floor  presents 
a  congested  condition. 


Particular  reference  is  made  to  the  fireproof  building  which  is 
believed  on  account  of  its  construction  to  be  safer  for  the  occu- 
pants than  the  non-fireproof  building  and  to  require  few  if  any 
precautions,  either  to  prevent  fire  or  to  preserve  the  safety  of  the 
occupants  in  case  of  fire.  The  testimony  discloses  the  weakness 
of  these  suppositions.  While  the  fireproof  building  itself  will  not 
burn,  the  merchandise,  wooden  partitions  and  other  imflammable 
material  burn  as  readily  in  a  fireproof  building  as  in  any  other. 
It  is  assumed  by  all  fire  insurance  experts  that  when  a  fire  occurs 
on  any  one  floor,  the  contents  of  that  entire  floor  will  be 
destroyed.  It  is  like  placing  paper  in  a  fireproof  box  —  it  confines 
the  fire  to  that  locality,  but  the  fire  is  just  as  hot  and  just  as 


34  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

destructive  within  its  bounds.  Therefore,  unless  means  are  pro- 
vided for  automatically  extinguishing  fires  and  for  the  rapid 
escape  of  the  occupants,  loss  of  life  may  occur  even  in  fireproof 
buildings. 

The  Triangle  Waist  Company  fire  is  illustrative  of  this  fact. 
There  the  building  was  practically  left  intact,  yet  the  fire  was 
severe  enough  to  cause  the  death  of  a  large  number  of  the  occu- 
pants. In  a  fireproof  building  the  fire  is  confined  to  a  limited 
area  and  is  therefore  more  easily  controlled.  The  occupants  of 
floors  over  eighty  feet  from  the  ground  cannot,  however,  be  reached 
by  the  Fire  Department's  ladders,  and  must  trust  for  escape  to  the 
stairways  or  exterior  fire-escapes. 

In  many  of  these  buildings  the  occupants  manufacture  gar- 
ments and  other  inflammable  articles.  The  floors  are  littered  with 
a  quantity  of  cuttings,  waste  material  and  rubbish,  and  are  often 
soaked  with  oil  or  grease.  No  regular  effort  is  made  to  clear  the 
floors.  No  fireproof  receptacles  are  provided  for  the  accumulated 
waste,  which  in  some  cases  is  not  removed  from  the  floors  for  many 
days.  Many  of  the  workmen,  foremen  and  employers  smoke  dur- 
ing business  hours  and  at  meal  times.  Lighted  gas  jets  are  un- 
protected by  globes  or  wire  netting,  and  are  placed  near  to  the 
inflammable  material.  Very  often  quantities  of  made-up  garments 
and  inflammable  raw  material  are  stored  in  those  lofts.  Fire 
drills  are  not  held,  save  in  rare  instances,  exits  are  unmarked, 
and  the  location  of  the  stairways  and  exterior  fire-escapes  is  often 
unknown.  Access  to  the  stairway  and  outside  fire-escapes  is  ob- 
structed by  machinery,  wooden  partitions  and  piled-up  merchan- 
dise, while  in  some  cases  the  fire-escape  balcony  is  at  such  a  dis- 
tance from  the  floor  as  to  make  it  almost  impossible  for  women 
employees  to  reach  it  without  assistance.  Wired  glass  is  not  used 
in  the  windows  facing  the  balconies  of  the  fire-escapes  except  in 
fireproof  buildings  over  150  feet  high.  In  some  cases  the  windows 
leading  to  fire-escapes  are  not  large  enough  to  permit  the  passage 
of  grown  persons  readily.  Automatic  or  manual  fire-alarms  are 
hardly  ever  provided,  except  in  the  larger  fireproof  buildings. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  35 

II. —  THE  EXISTING  FIRE  PROBLEM  IN  OTHER  CITIES  OF  THE 

STATE. 

In  the  cities  of  Buffalo,  Rochester  and  Syracuse,  there  are  some 
loft  buildings  in  which  manufacturing  is  carried  on,  but  com- 
paratively few  are  of  great  height,  so  that  this  problem  is  not 
nearly  so  complicated  or  extensive  there  as  in  New  York  city.  In 
these  cities  manufacturing  is  usually  conducted  in  special  factory 
buildings  which  vary  from  three  to  six  stories  in  height.  Such 
buildings,  save  those  recently  constructed,  are  almost  always  non- 
fireproof.  The  walls  are  of  brick,  stone  or  metal,  the  floors,  trim, 
doors  and  stairways  are  wooden,  the  latter  are  in  an  open  well  or 
surrounded  by  wooden  partitions.  Sometimes  there  are  exterior 
fire-escapes.  These  buildings  do  not  have,  as  a  rule,  any  auto- 
matic sprinklers,  or  appliances  for  extinguishing  fire,  except  fire 
pails,  which  are  frequently  in  a  useless  condition. 

A  feature  of  some  of  these  buildings  is  the  "  gas  pipe  "  fire- 
escape.  These  fire-escapes  consist  of  vertical  iron  or  metal  ladders 
affixed  to  the  wall  of  the  building,  adjacent  to  the  windows.  The 
rungs  of  these  ladders  are  circular  —  probably  one  inch  in 
diameter,  and  placed  at  a  distance  of  a  few  inches  from  the  wall. 
They  usually  run  from  the  top  floor  of  the  buildings  to  the  first 
floor,  with  no  means  of  reaching  the  ground.  Only  an  acrobat 
could  safely  descend  them.  The  Chief  of  the  Fire  Department 
of  one  of  these  cities  testified  that  he  could  not  use  these  ladders, 
but  that  if  it  came  to  a  question  of  being  burned  alive  or  using 
the  fire-escape,  he  supposed  he  would  try  it.  These  so-called  fire- 
escapes  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare  and  are  useless  in  an  emergency. 

The  lack  of  precautions  to  prevent  fire  exists  all  through  the 
State  as  well  as  in  New  York  city.  Smoking  goes  on  in  just  the 
same  way,  rubbish  is  piled  upon  fire-escapes,  over-crowding  and 
congestion  prevail,  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  keep  a  clear  and 
unobstructed  passageway  to  exits.  Access  to  exterior  fire-escapes 
in  many  cases  is  impossible  because  of  obstructions  in  front  of 
doors  and  windows.  Wooden  partitions  exist  in  most  of  the  build- 
ings, doors  open  inward,  inflammable  material  used  in  manu- 
facturing is  kept  on  hand  in  quantities,  gas  jets  are  unprotected, 
and  there  is  no  means  provided  in  the  building  of  giving  an  alarm 
of  fire  either  to  the  occupants  or  to  Fire  Headquarters.  Little 
attempt  is  made  at  regular  cleaning-up.  Fire  drills  are  practically 
unknown. 


36  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

III. —  ENFORCEMENT  OF  LAWS  RELATIVE  TO  FIRE. 

1.  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. —  Up  to  the  date  of  the  appointment 
of  the  Commission  and  for  some  months  thereafter,  responsibility 
for  the  safety  of  the  occupants  of  factory  buildings  in  case  of  fire 
was  divided  among  six  city  Departments  and  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Labor. 

The  Department  of  Buildings  had  jurisdiction  over  the  con- 
struction of  factory  buildings  and  the  fire-escape  facilities  in 
them.  The  Building  Department,  after  the  factory  was  con- 
structed, however,  inspected  only  after  specific  complaint. 

The  Fire  Department  had  jurisdiction  over  the  fire  extinguish- 
ing apparatus  in  the  building. 

The  Police  Department  had  jurisdiction  over  obstructions  on 
the  fire-escapes. 

The  Department  of  Water  Supply  had  jurisdiction  over  the 
proper  installation  of  electric  wiring  and  apparatus. 

The  Tenement  House  Department  had  jurisdiction  over  exits 
and  fire-escape  facilities  in  all  tenement  houses,  including  those 
in  which  manufacturing  is  carried  on. 

The  Board  of  Health  had  summary  jurisdiction  over  any  con- 
dition that  constituted  a  menace  to  public  health  and  safety.  The 
Board  of  Health,  however,  acts  only  on  specific  information  and 
complaint  and  in  most  instances  refers  such  complaints  to  the 
Building  or  Labor  Departments. 

The  State  Department  of  Labor  had  jurisdiction  after  the  build- 
ing was  erected,  as  to  doors  opening  outward,  and  over  the  en- 
forcement of  the  provision  requiring  250  cubic  feet  of  air  space 
per  person,  and  the  maintaining  of  free  access  to  fire-escapes  and 
unobstructed  exits.  If  a  man  had  an  obstruction  on  the  fire-escape, 
the  Police  Department  alone  could  compel  him  to  remove  it.  He 
could  then  move  it  into  the  passageway  leading  to  the  fire- 
escape  and  then  it  would  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Labor 
Department.  It  was  possible  in  one  factory  to  have  a  condition 
of  affairs  which  called  for  the  intervention  of  all  six  Departments 
in  one  day,  and  for  which  no  one  Department  was  responsible. 
Such  a  condition,  of  course,  was  intolerable.  The  Sullivan-Hoey 
Fire  Prevention  Law,  enacted  shortly  after  the  appointment  of 
this  Commission,  attempts  to  change  this  state  of  affairs  for  New 
York  city. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  37 

The  purpose  of  that  law  is  to  center  the  responsibility  for  the 
enforcement  of  all  laws  and  ordinances  relating  to  the  safety  of 
the  occupants  of  factory  buildings  in  case  of  fire  in  one  Depart- 
ment,—  tihe  Fire  Department  of  the  city  which  would  have  full 
jurisdiction  and  full  responsibility.  In  addition,  the  Fire  Com- 
missioner was  given  the  power  to  require  any  building  to  be 
vacated  in  which  conditions  were  such  as,  in  his  opinion,  would 
imperil  the  lives  of  the  occupants.  The  law  has  been  in  operation 
but  a  short  time,  and  its  success  cannot  at  this  time  l>e  determined. 
Undoubtedly,  the  principle  upon  which  it  is  baeed  is  a  sound  one. 

Several  defects  in  the  law  have  been  called  to  the  attention  of 
the  Commission,  but  before  the  operation  of  the  law  has  been 
tested  the  Commission  does  not  desire  to  suggest  any  changes. 

2.  Tx  OTHER  CITIES  OF  THE  STATE. — To  an  extent,  the  same 
confusion  and  duplication  of  responsibility  existed  in  other  cities 
of  the  State.  Each  of  the  cities  has  a  local  Fire  Department 
which  has  more  or  less  jurisdiction  over  the  erection  of  fire-escapes 
on  buildings.  Some  cities  have  a  Fire  Marshal  who  passes  upon 
the  plans  for  projected  buildings,  the  title  in  other  cities  being 
changed  to  that  of  Superintendent  of  Buildings.  There  is  in 
some  of  the  cities  a  health  officer  who  has  power  to  deal  with  a 
number  of  the  conditions  arising  in  manufacturing  establishments. 

The  State  Department  of  Labor,  under  the  Labor  Law,  has 
complete  jurisdiction  over  fire-escape  facilities,  and  over  matters 
relating  to  the  safety  of  occupants  of  the  factory  buildings  in  case 
of  fire.  Its  jurisdiction  in  this  regard  is  not  limited  as  it  is  in 
the  city  of  New  York.  However,  a  confusion  as  to  the  respective 
duties  of  the  different  city  officials  and  the  State  Department  of 
Labor  was  found  to  exist  on  all  sides.  Except  in  a  few  notable 
in-tnn<*<v,  it  was  found1  that  but  little  reliance  could  be  placed  on 
inspection  and  supervision  of  the  local  city  officials.  It  was  their 
contention  that  the  responsibility  for  proper  fire-escape  facilities 
rested  with  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 

Since  the  appointment  of  this  Commission,  an  act  has  been 
passed  by  the  Legislature  creating  a  State  Fire  Marshal,  with 
the  power  to  enforce  all  laws  and  regulations  of  the  State  and  the 

±60239 


38  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

cities  thereof  (except  New  York  city)  relating  to  the  construction, 
maintenance  and  regulation  of  fire-escapes,  the  means  and  ade- 
quacy of  exit,  and  the  installation  and  maintenance  of  alarm  sys- 
tems and  fire  extinguishing  equipment.  Under  this  act,  Fire 
Marshals  in  the  various  cities  were  made  deputies  of  the  State  Fire 
Marshal.  The  State  Fire  Marshal  has  been  in  office  but  a  short 
time,  and  the  results  of  his  administration  cannot  at  this  time 
be  foreseen.  The  act  results,  however,  in  bringing  about  a  co-opera- 
tion between  State  and  city  officials  which  is  of  the  utmost 
importance. 

RECOMMENDATIONS  OF  THE  COMMISSION. 
PREVENTION  OF  FIRE. 

Testimony  was  given  that  at  least  50  per  cent  of  the  fires  oc- 
curring to-day  could  be  prevented  by  taking  certain  simple  and 
inexpensive  precautions.  Some  experts  placed  the  percentage  of 
preventable  fires  as  high  as  75  per  cent.  Fire  extinguishment  has 
received  careful  attention  in  the  past,  and  to-day  the  means 
supplied  for  extinguishing  fires  are  many.  But  little  attention, 
until  recently,  has  been  given  to  the  subject  of  fire  prevention. 
An  ounce  of  prevention  in  the  case  of  fires,  as  in  any  other  case, 
is  worth  a  pound  of  cure. 

The  principal  causes  of  fires  in  the  city  of  New  York  during 
the  past  few  years  have  been  rubbish  heaps,  lighted  matches, 
cigars  and  cigarettes,  and  exposed  gas  jets.  It  is  believed  by  the 
Commission  that  the  prohibition  of  smoking  in  manufacturing 
establishments,  and  the  cleaning  up  or  removal  of  rubbish,  cuttings 
and  waste  from  the  floors,  and  providing  fireproof  receptacles 
therefor,  will  be  most  effective  in  the  prevention  of  fires. 

The  fire  in  the  Triangle  Waist  Company  building  was  caused 
by  a  lighted  cigarette  thrown  upon  a  pile  of  cutting®.  Smoking 
should  be  strictly  prohibited  to  both  employees  and  employers. 
The  Commission  in  its  investigation  visited  among  other  estab- 
lishments, a  cigar  factory  in  a  converted  tenement  house  where 
there  were  several  hundred  employees  at  work.  The  foreman 
was  asked  whether  smoking  was  allowed.  He  stated  that  smoking 
was  prohibited  —  although  at  that  moment  he  was  busily  en- 
gaged in  smoking  his  own  cigar.  A  number  of  witnesses  testified 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  39 

that  while  smoking  ought  to  be  prohibited,  its  prevention  was 
a  hopeless  task.  Such  an  attitude  surprises  the  Commission,  as 
it  believes  from  its  investigation  that  a  little  education  upon 
the  subject  will  convince  'both  employee  and  employer  of  the 
wisdom  and  necessity  of  this  law.  Smoking  in  a  factory  is  a 
constant  menace  to  all  employed  therein. 

Chiefs  of  the  Fire  Departments  in  nearly  every  city  testified  that 
fires  in  factory  buildings  would  be  reduced  by  50%  if  provisions 
for  the  removal  of  rubbish,  the  protection  of  gas  jets  and  the 
prohibition  of  smoking  \vere  enacted  and  were  promptly  and 
fully  complied  with.  The  requirement  of  these  provisions  will 
work  no  hardship  upon  anyone,  and  will  entail  no  great  expense. 
Their  proper  enforcement  depends,  however,  upon  adequate  and 
systematic  inspection  and  prompt  and  effective  punishment  for 
violation.  Sufficient  means  should  be  given  the  department  charged 
with  the  enforcement  of  this  law  for  the  strict  punishment  of 
those  who  fail  to  comply  with  its  provisions,  so  that  there  may  be 
no  excuse  for  non-compliance. 

The  Commission  therefore  recommends  on  the  subject  of  pre- 
vention of  fires  the  following: 

Fireproof  receptacles.  There  shall  be  provided  in 
every  factory  building  or  manufacturing  establishment  a 
sufficient  number  of  properly  covered  fireproof  recep- 
tacles, to  be  placed  as  may  be  directed  by  the  Fira 
Commissioner  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  else- 
where by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  in  which  shall 
be  placed  all  inflammable  waste  materials,  cuttings  and 
rubbish.  Waste  materials,  rubbish  and  cuttings  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  accumulate  on  the  floors  of  any  factory  or  man- 
ufacturing establishment,  and  the  same  shall  be  removed 
therefrom  not  less  than  twice  during  each  day.  All  rubbish, 
cuttings  and  waste  materials  snail  be  entirely  removed  from 
a  factory  building  at  least  once  in  each  day. 

Oas  Jets,  All  gas  jets  or  lights  in  factories  or  man- 
ufacturing establishments  shall  be  properly  enclosed  by 
globes,  or  wire  cages,  or  shall  be  otherwise  properly  protected. 


40  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

Smoking.  Smoking  in  all  factories  or  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments shall  be  prohibited. 

A  notice  to  that  effect  setting  forth  the  penalty  for  violation 
thereof  shall  be  posted  on  every  floor  of  such  establishment 
in  English  and  such  other  language  or  languages  as  the  local 
Fire  Commissioner  or  Fire  Marshal  shall  direct. 

NOTICE  TO  AUTHORITIES  IN  CASE  OF  FIRE. 

No  matter  what  care  and  what  precautions  may  be  taken,  fires 
will  occur,  and  attempts  are  frequently  made  by  employees  to 
extinguish  them  before  calling  upon  the  public  authorities.  In 
almost  every  case  this  is  a  serious  mistake.  In  the  Triangle 
Waist  Company  and  Equitable  Building  fires,  lives  would  have 
been  saved  and  the  fire  would  not  have  been  nearly  so  severe,  if 
the  Fire  Department  had  been  promptly  notified.  In  this  regard 
the  Commission  can  do  no  more  than  lay  before  the  public  the 
facts  disclosed.  It  had  been  the  intention  of  the  Commission, 
after  examining  into  the  matter,  to  recommend  the  installation 
of  automatic  or  manual  fire  alarms  in  certain  factories.  After 
conferring,  however,  with  the  Fire  Commissioner  and  the  Chief 
of  the  Fire  Department  in  New  York  City,  the  Commission  has 
decided  to  withold  for  the  present,  this  recommendation,  for  the 
following  reasons: 

1st.  The  present  fire-alarm  telegraph  system  at  Fire  Head- 
quarters is  entirely  inadequate  to  deal  with  the  large  number  of 
alarm  stations  that  would  be  created  as  a  result  of  this  provision. 

2nd.  The  business  of  installing  automatic  or  manual  fire 
alarms  in  the  City  of  New  York  is  in  the  hands  of  but  three  or 
four  concerns,  and  there  is  danger,  if  any  such  mandatory  legis- 
lation were  enacted,  that  it  might  cause  serious  inconvenience  to 
i  h<>se  affected  thereby. 

3rd.  The  Fire  Department  at  present  has  no  control  over  the 
systems  of  automatic  fire  alarms,  and  their  efficiency  does  not 
always  prove  equal  to  the  test. 

The  Commission  emphatically  states,  however,  its  belief  in  noti- 
fication of  Fire  Headquarters  by  some  automatic  or  manual  means 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  41 

on  the  premises,  in  case  of  fire  in  a  factory  building  where  more 
than  250  persons  are  employed.  The  Commission  expects  to  take 
lip  this  matter  again  during  its  continuance,  and  believes  by  that 
time  there  will  be  such  changes  in  conditions  that  it  will  be  able 
to  mate  some  recommendations  upon  this  subject. 

NOTICE  TO  OCCUPANTS  IN  CASE  OF  FIRE. 

The  Commission  gave  much  thought  and  attention,  to  meana 
of  notifying  the  occupants  of  a  building  in  case  of  fire.  After 
consideration  of  the  facts  before  it,  the  Commission  is  of  the 
opinion  that  the  dangers  from  panic  and  excitement  caused  by 
any  alarm,  such  as  the  ringing  of  a  bell  indicating  on  which  floor 
the  fire  had  occurred,  when  the  alarm  might  be  false  or  the  fire 
slight  and  readily  controlled,  outweighed  the  advantage  to  be 
gained.  Therefore  the  Commission  does  not  at  this  time  recom- 
mend any  automatic  fire-alarm  system,  save  as  may  become  neces- 
sary in  connection  with  the  operation  of  a  fire  drill  hereinafter 
provided  for. 

FIRE  DRILLS. 

The  Commission  personally  witnessed  fire  drills  in  factory  build- 
ings, and  some  testimony  was  taken  upon  this  subject.  The  Com- 
mission believes  that  in  factory  buildings  where  more  than  twenty- 
five  persons  are  regulaily  employed  above  the  second  story,  a 
fire  drill  should  be  conducted.  One  of  the  purposes  of  the  fire 
drill  should  be  to  indicate  to  the  occupants  where  the  stair- 
ways are,  and  the  means  of  reaching  them.  It  has  been  found 
in  many  of  the  larger  buildings  where  the  occupants  use  the 
elevators  to  go  to  and  from  their  work,  that  the  location  of  the 
stairs  or  exterior  fire-escapes  is  unknown.  A  fire  drill  at  any 
drill  should  be  to  indicate  to  the  occupants,  where  the  stair- 
vision,  and  the  Commission  is  therefore  of  the  opinion  that  the 
drill  should  be  supervised  by  the  local  Fire  Departments.  A  fire 
drill  is  also  extremely  useful  in  preventing  panic.  While  of  course 
not  so  effective  in  the  case  of  occupants  of  a  loft  or  factory  building 
as  in  the  case  of  school  children,  it  undoubtedly  would  go 
far  in  preventing  a  mad  rush  towards  the  exits.  If  the  fire  drilJ 


42  REPORT  or  COMMISSION. 

accomplishes  nothing  more  than  to  acquaint  the  occupants  of  a 
building  with  the  different  exits,  to  compel  them  to  use  those  exits 
at  stated  intervals,  and  to  keep  them  clear  and  unobstructed,  it  will 
have  served  its  purpose.  The  periodical  fire  drill  will  constantly 
bring  to  the  minds  of  employee  and  employer  alike  the  possibility 
of  fire  and  the  necessity  for  using  every  proper  means  to  prevent 
the  same.  The  Commission  makes  the  following  recommendation : 

Fire  Drills. —  In  every  factory  building  or  manufactur- 
ing establishment  in  which  more  than  25  persons  are 
regularly  employed  above  the  ground  or  first  floor,  a  fire 
drill  of  the  occupants  of  such  building  shall  be  conducted  at 
least  once  in  every  three  months  under  the  supervision 
of  the  local  Fire  Department  or  one  of  its  officers.  Every  em- 
ployer and  employee  shall  aid  and  assist  such  Fire  Depart- 
ment and  its  officials  in  conducting  such  fire  drill.  In  the  City 
of  New  York  the  Fire  Commissioner,  and  elsewhere  the 
State  Fire  Marshal,  is  authorized  and  directed  to  prepare 
appropriate  rules  and  regulations  to  make  effective  this  pro- 
vision; said  rules  and  regulations  to  be  posted  on  each  floor 
of  every  such  factory  building  or  establishment. 

PREVENTION  OF  SPREAD  OF  FIRE. 

Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  size  of  windows  leading 
to  balconies  connected  with  exterior  fire-escapes.  In  some  cases 
these  windows  are  too  small  in  size  to  admit  the  free  passage  of 
a  grown  person.  The  windows  are  usually  of  ordinary  glass, 
which  does  not  resist  fire  at  all.  The  flames  break  through  these 
windows,  and  the  result  is  that  no  protection  whatever  is  afforded 
to  those  going  down  the  fire-escapes.  The  use  of  wired  glass 
instead  of  ordinary  glass  would  serve  as  some  means  to  check  the 
flames  and  would  give  the  employees  on  the  upper  stories  who 
are  compelled  to  resort  to  the  exterior  fire-escapes  a  much  wider 
margin  of  safety. 

Fire  Departments  are  unable  to  reach  with  their  ladders  any 
point  above  the  seventh  story  of  a  building  or  more  than  ninety 
feet  above  the  ground.  Therefore  ordinary  precautions  are  in- 
sufficient to  safeguard  properly  the  workers  above  the  seventh 
floor.  Much  testimony  was  taken  upon  the  use  and  efficacy 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  43 

of  automatic  sprinkler  systems.  The  Chiefs  of  various 
Fire  Departments  testified  that  one  of  the  greatest  means  of 
preserving  life,  especially  in  high  buildings  and  in  those  where 
wooden  trim  is  used,  is  an  automatic  sprinkler  system.  This 
system,  briefly,  consists  of  a  tank,  usually  upon  the  roof  of  the 
building,  containing  a  large  supply  of  water,  communicating  with 
pipes  which  run  along  the  ceilings  on  the  various  floors.  At 
regular  intervals  in  these  pipes  are  placed  what  is  known  a? 
"  sprinkler  heads,"  fastened  with  fusible  nuts  which  automatically 
break  and  discharge  a  flow  of  water  when  exposed  to  a  certain 
degree  of  heat.  The  automatic  sprinkler  confines  the  fire  to  a 
limited  area  and  checks  it  in  its  incipiency. 

Testimony  as  to  the  efficacy  of  sprinkler  systems  varies,  but 
the  lowest  estimate  of  their  proper  working  is  75  per  cent  and  the 
highest  95  per  cent.  Proof  was  given  that  in  the  New  England 
mills  where  sprinkler  systems  have  been  in  use  for  many  years, 
there  was  only  one  loss  of  life  where  a  sprinkler  system  was  in- 
stalled, and  in  that  case  the  water  supply  for  the  system  was  cut  off 
just  before  the  fire  occurred.  The  installation  of  an  automatic 
sprinkler  eventually  pays  for  itself  in  the  form  of  a  reduction 
of  fire  insurance  premiums  granted  where  the  system  is  installed. 

Such  reduction  of  premiums  is  allowed,  however,  only  if  the 
system  is  one  approved  by  the  National  Board  of  Fire  Under- 
writers, consisting  of  representatives  of  all  the  fire  insurance 
companies  in  the  United  States.  This  Board  has  approved  of 
only  a  few  systems,  and  the  manufacturer  who  desires  to  obtain  the 
benefit  of  a  reduction  of  insurance  must  install  one  of  these 
approved  systems.  Testimony  was  given  indicating  that  there 
was  some  arrangement  or  understanding  by  which  high  prices 
were  charged  for  these  sprinkler  systems. 

It  was  also  testified  that  any  competent  plumber  could  install 
a  sprinkler  system  which  would  be  effective  in  case  of  fire. 

The  installation  of  the  automatic  sprinkler  system  has  been 
recommended  by  Fire  Chiefs  throughout  the  State,  and  by  nearly 
all  of  the  experts  on  the  fire  problem.  The  Commission  does  not 
desire  to  make  any  drastic  recommendation  on  this  subject,  but 
it  is  convinced  that  in  buildings  over  seven  stories  or  90  feet  in 
height,  in  which  wooden  floors  or  wooden  trim  are  used,  and  more 


44  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

than  200  people  are  employed  above  the  seventh  floor,  the  only 
safe  means  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  and  the  loss  of  life  in- 
cidental thereto  would  be  the  installation  of  an  automatic  sprinkler 
system. 

Chief  Kenlon  of  the  New  York  Fire  Department  testified  that 
had  an  automatic  sprinkler  system  been  installed  in  the  Triangle 
Waist  Company  building,  he  believed  that  not  a  single  life  would 
have  been  lost.  If  manufacturing  is  carried  on  above  the  seventh 
story  of  a  building,  or  90  feet  above  the  ground,  the  manufacturer 
should  be  required  to  furnish  every  possible  device  to  safeguard 
the  lives  of  his  employees  in  case  of  fire. 

The  Commission  therefore  makes  the  following  recommenda- 
tions : 

Windows  of  Wired  Glass. —  All  windows  and  doors 
leading  to  outside  fire-escapes  shall  be  not  less  than  nvo 
feet  in  width  by  five  feet  in  height,  and  shall  be  constructed 
of  wired  glass. 

Automatic  Sprinklers. —  In  all  factory  buildings  over 
seven  stories  or  90  feet  in  height  in  which  wooden  floors  or 
wooden,  trim  are  used,  and  more  than  200  people  are  regularly 
employed  above  the  seventh  floor,  the  owner  of  the  building 
shall  install  an  automatic  sprinkler  system  in  the  form  and 
manner  approved  by  the  Bureau  of  Fire  Prevention  in  the 
Oity  of  New  York  and  in  all  other  parts  of  the  State  by  the 
State  Fire  Marshal.  Such  installation  shall  be  made  within 
one  year  of  the  passage  of  the  law  carrying  this  recommen- 
dation into  effect,  the  Fire  Commissioner  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  and  the  State  Fire  Marshal  elsewhere,  to  have  the  dis- 
cretion to  extend  such  time  for  good  cause  shown,  for  an 
additional  year. 

ESCAPE  FROM  WORKROOMS. 

The  Commission  ascertained  by  investigation  and  testimony, 
that  exits  to  outside  fire-escapes  and  to  interior  stairways, 
especially  when  they  lead  through  other  portions  of  the  loft,  were 
often  unknown  to  many  of  the  operatives.  It  certainly  is  neces- 
sary to  indicate  clearly  the  location  of  these  exits. 

A  contributing  cause  to  the  loss  of  life  in  the  Triangle  Waist 
Company  fire  was  the  lack  of  clear  passageways  leading  to  the 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  45 

fire-escapes  and  stairways.  The  employees  were  so  crowded  to- 
gether, seated  at  tables  containing  machines,  with  chairs  back  to 
back,  that  when  a  great  number  of  them  attempted  to  leave  at 
the  same  time  there  was  panic  and  confusion.  The  following  is 
a  diagram  showing  the  arrangement  of  the  sewing  machines,  and 
the  congestion  prevailing  on  the  ninth  floor  of  this  building,  where 
most  of  the  deaths  occurred. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 


NINTH  FLOOR  PLAN  OF  ASCH  BUILDING 

Showing  Arrangement  of  Stairs,  Elevators,  Fire 
Escape  and  Sewing  Machine  Tables 


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REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  47 

In  the  report  made  by  the  Superintendent  of  the  New  York 
Board  of  Fire  Underwriters,  it  was  stated  that  20  dead  bodies  were 
found  near  the  machines  "  apparently  overcome  before  they  could 
extricate  themselves  from  the  crowded  aisles."  The  condition 
which  prevailed  in  this  building  obtains  in  many  similar  build- 
ings. The  necessity  for  clear  and  unobstructed  passageways  to 
exits  should  be  absolutely  insisted  upon,  otherwise  with  the 
slightest  panic,  even  without  a  fire,  severe  injuries,  if  not  loss 
of  life,  would  occur. 

The  Commission  has  already  commented  on  the  width  of  doors 
and  windows  leading  to  outside  fire-escapes.  It  has  also  found 
tli at  the  doors  leading  to  stairways  are  too  narrow.  This  is 
especially  so  in  the  old  converted  tenements  where  these  narrow 
doors  are  a  source  of  danger  in  case  of  panic  or  fire.  The  first 
rush  is  always  for  the  doors.  The  attempt  upon  the  part  of  a 
number  of  persons  to  pass  through  at  one  time  leads  to  a  jam, 
and  if  the  doors  are  dangerously  narrow,  many  would  lose  their 
lives.  When  there  are  only  a  few  persons  employed  upon  a 
floor  a  narrow  door  is  not  a  serious  objection,  bait  where  a 
number  of  persons  are  employed,  regard  for  their  safety  requires 
that  such  dangerous  conditions  be  remedied. 


DOORS  TO  OPEN  OUTWARD. 

The  present  Labor  Law  provides  (sec.  80),  that  doors  lead- 
ing to  exits  should  open  outward  wherever  practicable.  This 
elastic  provision  has  been  so  construed  that,  until  the  Triangle 
Waist  fire,  there  were  probably  very  few  orders  made  requiring 
changes  in  existing  doors.  The  danger  involved  in  a  crowd  push- 
ing against  a  door  that  opens  inward  is  a  most  grave  one.  The 
trouble  has  been  that  in  the  old  buildings  some  of  the  doors,  if 
they  opened  outward,  would  obstruct  the  passageway  up  and 
down  the  stairways,  but  the  suggestion  has  been  made  to  the 
Commission  that  where  it  is  impracticable  to  have  doors  open 
outward,  doors  which  slide  freely,  could  be  provided. 


48  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

It  appears  in  the  testimony  that  in  many  cases  access  to 
the  fire-escapes  was  obstructed.  Partitions  were  erected  in  some 
cases,  piles  of  merchandise,  machinery  and  other  articles  placed 
before  them  in  others.  There  can  be  no  question  that  access 
from  the  floor  to  the  outside  fire-escapes  should  be  kept  free 
and  clear.  This  applies  with  even  greater  force  to  obstructions 
upon  the  balconies  of  the  fire-escapes  themselves.  Sometimes 
these  balconies  are  used  as  a  convenient  storage  place  for  waste 
and  refuse  material,  and  for  discarded  and  unused  machinery. 

In  many  of  the  older  buildings,  the  distance  from  the  floor  to 
the  window  sills  leading  to  the  balcony  of  the  exterior  fire-escape 
is  so  high  that,  especially  for  women,  it  is  difficult  of  access. 
The  Commission  recommends  that  where  such  distance  from  floor 
to  sill  is  more  than  2 1/2  feet,  there  should  be  sufficient  steps  lead- 
ing to  the  window  sills  to  insure  easy  access  to  the  fire-escape. 

On  this  subject  of  escape  from  workrooms  the  Commission  there- 
fore makes  the  following  recommendations: 

Exits  from  Workrooms. —  All  exits  leading  from  factory 
workrooms,  including  those  leading  to  outside  fire-escapes 
or  interior  stairways,  shall  be  properly  indicated  by  posting 
suitable  signs  at  every  exit.  All  doors  and  sashes  of  all 
windows  leading  to  outside  fire-escapes  shall  be  painted  with 
red  paint 

Passageways. —  All  operatives  in  any  factory  shall  be 
so  placed  or  seated,  and  all  machines,  machinery,  merchandise 
and  other  articles  shall  be  so  spaced  or  arranged  as  to  afford 
to  each  and  every  employee  a  continuous,  safe  and  un- 
obstructed passageway  to  each  and  every  exit. 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  shall  have  power  to  make 
and  enforce  rules  and  regulations  to  carry  this  provision 
into  effect. 

Width  of  Exits. —  In  every  manufacturing  establish- 
ment where  more  than  25  persons  are  employed  on  a  floor, 
all  doors  and  door  ways  upon  such  floor  or  floors  leading  to 
exits  aball  be  at  least  three  feet  wide. 

Doors  to  Open  Outward. —  In  every  manufacturing 
establishment  where  more  than  20  people  are  employed 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  49 

on  one  floor,  all  doors  on  such  floor  or  floors  leading  to 
exits  shall  open  outwardly,  or  shall  be  so  constructed  as  to 
slide  freely. 

Access  to  Fire-Escapes. —  Access  to  outside  fire-escapes 
from  the  floor  on  which  they  are  located  and  from  the  upper 
to  the  lower  story,  shall  not  be  obstructed  in  any  way. 

Access  to  Window-sills  Leading  to  Fire-Escapes. — 
There  shall  be  free  and  easy  access  to  all  window-sills  leading 
to  outside  fire-escapes.  Where  the  distance  from  the  floor 
to  such  window-sills  is  more  than  2l/2  feet,  a  step  or  steps 
leading  thereto,  sufficient  to  provide  free  passage,  shall  be 
provided. 

CHANGES  IN  EXISTING  EXTERIOR  FIRE-ESCAPES. 

Investigation  has  shown  that  existing  outside  fire-escapes,  in 
order  to  be  of  use,  need  some  changes  and  additions.  Testimony 
was  given  that  outside  fire-escapes  were  of  very  little  value.  In 
fact,  the  Chiefs  of  the  Eire  Departments  testified  that  their  best 
use  was  for  the  firemen  to  ascend  with  the  hose.  In  case  of  fire, 
however,  attempts  are  always  made  to  utilize  them,  and  as  they 
have  been  erected  at  great  expense  and  can  be  made  useful  with 
some  slight  changes,  the  Commission,  after  consideration,  makes 
some  recommendations  with  reference  thereto. 

Frequently  there  is  no  means  of  escape  from  the  top  balcony 
to  the  roof  of  the  building.  Therefore,  the  Commission  believes 
that  where  there  are  exterior  fire-escapes  other  than  party  wall 
fire-escapes,  owners  of  buildings  should  be  required  to  erect  a 
goose-neck  ladder  or  stairs  to  the  roof.  A  similar  provision  is 
required  in  all  tenement  houses.  The  expense  is  trifling,  and  soich 
a  ladder  may  ofton  prove  to  be  of  great  value  in  case  of  fire. 

Frequently  no  ladder  is  provided  from  the  lowest  balcony  to 
the  ground,  and  where  a  ladder  is  provided,  it  is  of  such  weight 
and  so  placed  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  use,  especially  in  time  of 
emergency.  A  balanced  drop  ladder  should  be  provided  from 


50  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

the  lowest  balcony,  of  sufficient  length  to  reach  the  ground.  The 
drop  ladders  at  present  in  use  could  be  utilized  for  this  purpose 
by  affixing  a  balancing  apparatus. 

Where  fire-escapes  are  erected  on  the  rear  of  buildings,  they 
often  lead  to  narrow  yards  or  alleyways  from  which  there  is  no 
means  of  escape,  and  after  a  safe  journey  has  been  made  to 
the  landing  place  the  person  descending  finds  himself  in  a  cul 
de  sac. 

Testimony  showed  tihat  there  are  whole  blocks  of  buildings  in 
New  York  city  in  which  these  conditions  prevail,  and  the  occu- 
pants who  in  case  of  a  fire  should  descend  the  fire-escapes  to  these 
yards,  would  find  their  escape  entirely  cut  off. 

The  following  recommendations  with  reference  to  existing  out- 
side fire-escapes  are  therefore  made: 

Existing  Outside  Fire-Escapes.  On  all  existing  out- 
side fire-escapes,  except  party  wall  fire-escapes,  there  shall 
be  provided  the  following : 

(a)  A  goose  neck  ladder  or  stairs  leading  from  the  top 
floor  balcony  to  and  above  the  roof,  and  properly  fastened 
thereto. 

(ft)  A  balanced  drop  ladder  from  the  lowest  balcony,  of 
sufficient  length  to  reach  a  safe  landing  place  beneath. 

(c)  Safe  and  unobstructed  exit  from  such  landing  place 
either  by  means  of  an  opening  in  the  fence  leading  to  ad- 
joining premises,  or  by  means  of  a  fireproof  passageway  lead- 
ing to  the  street. 

All  of  these  are  to  be  constructed  in  accordance  with  such 
regulations  as  may  be  adopted  by  the  Fire  Commissioner  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  and  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor 
elsewhere  throughout  the  State. 

LIMITATION  OF  NUMBER  OF  OCCUPANTS. 

ACCORDING  TO  FLOOR  SPACE. — A  serious  question  before  the 
Commission  with  reference  to  the  problem  of  fire  hazard  was  howi 


REPOBT  OF  COMMISSION.  51 

to  limit  properly  the  number  of  persons  engaged  in  work  on  any 
one  particular  floor  of  a  factory  building. 

The  present  law  simply  provides  that  250  cubic  feet  of  air  spacs 
shall  be  allowed  for  each  occupant.  As  the  ceilings  in  most  cases 
are  high  this  does  not  prevent  over-crowding.  Posting  of  the 
number  of  occupants  permitted  is  not  required,  and  the  law,  even 
if  enforced,  is  entirely  inadequate. 

The  Commission  gave  careful  consideration  to  this  subject,  and 
a  sub-committee  discussed  all  its  phases  at  great  length,  and  con- 
sulted many  experts  whose  opinions  were  of  value.  It  is  the  con- 
clusion of  the  Commission  that,  irrespective  of  the  number  of 
exits,  fireproof  condition  or  means  of  extinguishing  fire,  the  only 
safe  method  of  preventing  loss  of  life  by  panic  or  fire  is  to  limit 
more  adequately  the  number  of  persons  on  each  floor.  It  was 
finally  determined  that  the  most  effective  method  was  to  prescribe 
a  minimum  amount  of  floor  space  for  each  employee,  making  a 
difference  in  this  amount  between  fireproof  and  non-fireproof 
buildings.  The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  <a  minimum  of 
36  square  feet  of  floor  space  for  each  person  in  a  non-fireproof 
factory  building,  and  of  32  square  feet  for  every  person  in  a  fire- 
proof building,  is  a  fair  allowance.  This  limitation  is  to  apply 
generally  to  all  factory  buildings,  and  to  take  the  place  of  the 
provision  requiring  250  cubic  feet  of  air  space,  now  in  force. 
That  the  present  provision  is  inadequate  even  for  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  designed,  namely,  to  furnish  sufficient  ventila- 
tion, is  generally  conceded.  This  recommendation  of  the  Commis- 
sion will  therefore  not  only  prevent  congestion  and  overcrowding, 
but  it  also  guarantees  better  ventilation. 

A  careful  study  was  made  of  the  practical  effect  of  this  pro- 
vision, so  far  as  reducing  the  number  of  operatives  allowed  in 
factory  buildings  is  concerned.  While  it  will  prevent  over- 
crowding, it  will  not  in  the  opinion  of  the  Commission  unreason- 
ably decrease  the  number  of  persons  permitted  to  be  employed. 
For  example,  a  building  25  x  80,  under  the  present  provision  of 
the  Labor  Law,  would  have  a  capacity  of  80  employees  per  floor. 
Under  the  provisions  recommended  the  number  of  employees  per 
floor  would  be  reduced  to  about  55  in  a  non-fireproof  building, 
and  to  about  62  in  a  fireproof  building. 


52  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

ACCORDING  TO  SIZE  AND  NUMBER  OF  EXITS. — The  Commission 
is  of  the  opinion  that  while  limiting  the  number  of  occu- 
pants according  to  the  number  of  square  feet  of  floor  space  would 
be  a  sufficient  provision  in  the  case  of  many  buildings,  yet  where 
there  are  insufficient  exits  and  inadequate  means  of  extinguishing 
or  preventing  the  spread  of  fire,  some  other  restrictions  should  be 
made.  Long  consideration  was  given  by  the  entire  Commission 
and  by  sub-committees  to  this  problem,  and  consultations  were 
had  with  many  experts  and  authorities,  all  of  whom  gave  their 
services  without  compensation. 

The  existing  buildings  have  all  been  constructed  without  any  re- 
gard to  the  number  of  persons  who  were  to  occupy  them.  In  fact, 
when  they  were  constructed,  it  was  not  supposed  that  many  of 
them  would  be  occupied  for  manufacturing  purposes.  Great  sums 
of  money  have  been  expended  by  the  owners  for  their  erection 
and  maintenance,  and  the  problem  which  confronted  the  Commis-' 
sion  was  how  to  effect  the  safety  of  those  employed  therein  and 
yet  not  deal  too  severely  with  the  owner  or  occupant  of  the 
building. 

The  temptation  to  be  drastic  in  this  matter  is  obvious.  The 
Commission,  however,  believes  that  the  recommendations  which 
it  makes  in  this  regard  will  be  found  fair  to  the  employer  and 
employee,  and  if  put  into  effect,  will  at  the  same  time  reasonably 
protect  life. 

The  Commission  concluded  to  further  gauge  the  number  o£ 
occupants  by  the  size  and  number  of  exits  provided;  the  number 
to  be  increased  proportionately  if  the  owner  or  tenant  provided 
additional  exits  or  means  of  extinguishing  and.  preventing  the 
spread  of  fire. 

The  capacity  of  the  stairway  as  a  means  of  exit  is  limited  by  its 
height  and  width,  and  it  is  self-evident,  therefore,  that  the  number 
of  persons  occupying  the  building  must  bear  some  relation  to  the 
stairways  in  the  building.  After  personally  inspecting  numerous 
buildings  and  stairways,  and  after  mature  consideration  and  con- 
ference the  Commission  decided  to  recommend  that  the  number 
of  persons  permitted  to  occupy  any  floor  of  a  factory  building 
above  the  ground  or  first  floor  should  be  limited  to  14  persons 
for  every  eighteen  inches  in  width  of  stairways  provided,  and 
for  every  additional  16  inches  over  10  feet  in  height  of  ceiling 
from  floor,  one  additional  person  should  be  permitted.  For  ex- 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  53 

ample,  if  the  stairway  was  18  inches  wide  and  the  space  between 
the  floor  and  the  ceiling  was  16  inches  over  10  feet,  15  persons 
would  be  permitted  on  each,  floor  of  the  building.  If  the  stair- 
way was  3  feet  wide,  as  is  usual,  and  the  ceiling  was  11  feet 
and  6  inches  above  the  floor,  30  persons  would  be  permitted  on 
each  floor. 

If  there  is  a  landing  place  at  the  head  of  the  stairs  enclosed 
in  fireproof  walls,  or  partitions,  with  a  fireproof  door,  this 
number  will  be  increased  by  the  number  of  persons  who  may  be 
able  to  stand  in  this  landing  place,  allowing  three  square  feet  for 
each  person. 

This  allowance  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  it  is  safe  to 
permit  on  any  floor  such  additional  number  of  persons  as  can 
safely  find  lodgment  in  case  of  fire,  in  a  place  which  is  partitioned 
off  by  a  fireproof  wall  or  partition,  from  the  loft  itself,  where  the 
fire  is  likely  to  occur. 

The  occupants  in  this  way  find  at  once  a  zone  of  safety,  the 
partition  wall  resisting  the  fire  long  enough  for  the  employees 
to  escape. 

The  number  of  persons  allowed  on  the  basis  of  the  width  of  the 
stairways  may  be  doubled  if  an  automatic  sprinkler  system  is 
installed. 

The  sprinkler  system  is  conceded  to  be  the  most  efficient  means1 
of  rapidly  checking  the  spread  of  fire  in  its  incipiency.  While  it 
does  not  in  itself  afford  an  additional  means  of  escape,  yet  by 
keeping  the  fire  in  check  and  confining  it  to  a  small  space,  it 
is  recognized  as  one  of  the  best  indirect  means  of  permitting 
escape  from  fire.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  number  of  persons 
on  a  floor  may  be  doubled  if  a  sprinkler  system  is  installed. 

Where  there  is  a  firewall  with  doors  not  less  than  thirty- 
six  inches  wide,  with  a  stairway  on  each  side  thereof,  the  number 
may  be  increased  by  the  number  of  persons  who  may  be  able 
to  stand  in  the  smaller  of  the  two  spaces  divided  by  the  firewall, 
allowing  three  square  feet  for  each  person.  Firewalls  are  an 
effective  means  of  preventing  the  spread  of  fire,  and  thus  afford 
a  ready  means  of  escape.  The  firewall  practically  divides  the1 
building  into  two  parts;  one  part  in  most  cases  would  be  unaffected 
by  the  fire  for  a  period  long  enough  to  enable  the  occupants  of  the 
entire  building  to  escape. 


54  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

The  next  alternative  is  what  might  be  called  the  adoption  of 
the  firewall  principle,  but  is  much  simpler  and  less  expensive  if 
it  can  be  put  into  practice.  That  is  for  the  occupant  to  obtain 
access  to  the  adjoining  building  by  fireproof  doors  in  the  party 
wall.  If  this  be  done,  the  number  of  occupants  may  be  increased 
practically  up  to  the  limit  allowed  according  to  the  amount  of  floor 
space  for  each  person,  because  the  only  other  restriction  would  be 
the  capacity  of  the  building  with  which  connection  was  made  to 
accommodate  the  employees  in  both  buildings  allowing  three  feet 
of  unobstructed  floor  space  for  each  person.  This  arrangement 
would,  of  course,  have  to  be  made  by  mutual  consent,  but  as  in 
many  cases  the  buildings  are  in  blocks,  are  of  the  same  height 
and  size,  with  party  walls  between,  and  have  floors  on  a  level, 
this  change  would  be  of  equal  benefit  to  the  owners  of  both  build- 
ings. Instead  of  breaking  through  the  walls  between  adjoining 
buildings,  an  even  simpler  and  still  less  expensive  method  can  be 
adopted.  A  fireproof  balcony  may  be  built  from  the  exterior  of 
the  building  either  to  the  adjoining  or  to  the  opposite  building. 
This  would  cost  very  little,  and  would  be  of  benefit  to  both  build- 
ings, and  as  it  would  allow  the  increase  of  the  number  of  em- 
ployees permitted  according  to  the  width  of  the  stairways  (viz., 
14  persons  for  every  18  inches  in  width  of  stairway),  the  Com- 
mission believes  it  will  be  adopted  in  many  cases. 

The  Commission  on  this  subject  makes  the  following  recom- 
mendations : 

Posting.  In  every  existing  factory  building  which  is 
regularly  occupied  by  more  than  fifty  persons  above  the 
ground  or  first  floor,  the  Fire  Commissioner  of  the  City  of 
New  York  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  in  the  other  cities 
of  the  State,  shall  cause  to  be  posted  notices  or  placards 
specifying  the  number  of  persons  that  may  occupy  each  floor 
in  said  building.  One  such  notice  is  to  be  posted  in  a  con- 
spicuous place  near  the  entrance  door  to  each  floor,  and  in 
conspicuous  places  on  each  floor  in  said  building. 

If  any  floor  is  occupied  by  more  than  one  tenant,  two 
such  notices  are  to  be  posted  in  the  space  occupied  by  each 
tenant.  All  such  notices  shall  be  dated  as  of  the  date  when' 
posted. 

In  case  more  persons  occupy  any  floor  or  floors  than  are 
specified  in  the  said  notices,  the  Fire  Commissioner  of  the 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  55 

City  of  New  York,  and  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  in  the 
other  cities  of  the  State,  shall  notify  the  tenant  or  tenants 
on  such  floor,  and  the  owner  of  the  said  building,  on  a  form 
regularly  printed  for  this  purpose.  Said  notice  shall  include 
an  order  to  the  tenants  and  owner  that  the  number  of  occu- 
pants of  said  floor  or  floors  must  be  reduced  to  the  number 
specified. 

Number  of  Persons  who  may  Occwpy  any  Floor.  The 
number  of  persons  who  may  occupy  any  floor  in  any  factory 
building  or  manufacturing  establishment  above  the  ground 
or  first  floor  shall  be  as  follows: 

(a)  General  limitation  applicable  to  all  buildings,  irre- 
spective of  exit  facilities. — There  shall  be  at  least  36  square 
feet  of  floor  space  on  each  and  every  floor  of  a  non-fireproof 
factory  building  for  every  person  employed  thereon.  In 
every  fireproof  factory  building  there  shall  be  not  less  than 
32  square  feet  of  floor  space  for  each  person  so  employed 
thereon.  A  fireproof  building  within  the  meaning  of  any 
of  these  recommendations  is  any  building  that  is  constructed 
so  that  its  walls;  are  of  brick,  stone  or  concrete;  its  floors 
and  roofs  are  of  brick,  terra  cotta,  reinforced  concrete,  otf 
other  approved  incombustible  material  placed  between  steel 
or  reinforced  concrete  beams ;  all  steel  entering  into  its  struc- 
tural parts  is  thoroughly  incased  in  at  least  two  inches  of 
fire-resisting  material;  its  interior  partitions  are  entirely  of 
incombustible  material;  its  stairs  and  stair  landings  are  en- 
tirely of  brick,  stone,  concrete,  iron  or  steel;  and  all  stairs, 
elevators  and  other  vertical  communications  between  floors 
are  solidly  enclosed  in  shafts  of  fireproof  construction. 

(&)  Limitation  based  upon  exit  facilities. — Fourteen  per- 
sons for  every  eighteen  inches  in  width,  of  stairways  pro- 
vided, shall  be  allowed  on  a  floor.  For  every  additional 
sixteen  inches  over  ten  feet  in  height  of  any  floor,  there  shall 
be  allowed  one  additional  person. 

(c)  Where  there  are  landing  places  enclosed  in  fireproof 
walls  or  partitions,  and  separated  from  the  loft  or  manuj 
facturing  establishment  by  fireproof  doors  of  standard  fire- 
proof construction,  such  additional  persons  may  be  employed 
on  each  floor  as  can  be  accommodated  by  the  landing  place 
or  places  aforesaid,  allowing  three  square  feet  for  each 
person. 


56  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

(d)  Where  a  firewall  or  walls  are  constructed  with  a  door 
or  doors  not  less  than  thirty-six  inches  in  width,  such  ad- 
ditional number  of  persons  may  be  permitted  on  each  floor 
as  can  be  accommodated  in  the  smaller  of  the  two  spaces 
formed  by  the  firewall  on  the  basis  of  at  least  3  square  feet 
of  floor  area  per  person;  provided,  however,  that  there  shall 
be  stairway  facilities  on  each  side  of  said  firewall,  and  that 
the  clear  spaces  on  each  side  of  the  said  firewall  are  of 
sufficient  area  to  accommodate  the  occupants  of  the  adjoining 
space  in  addition  to  its  own  occupants  on  the  basis  of  at  least 
three  square  feet  of  floor  area  per  person. 

{e)  When  the  firewall  principle  is  adopted  —  that  is  fire- 
proof connections  made  with  an  adjoining  or  near-by  build- 
ing —  such  additional  number  of  persons  may  be  permitted 
on  each  floor  as  can  be  accommodiated  in  the  adjoining  or 
near-by  building,  allowing  3  square  feet  of  floor  area  per 
person. 

(/)  Double  the  number  of  persons  allowed  under  sub- 
division (6)  of  this  section  may  be  employed  when  there  is 
constructed  or  installed  on  each  and  every  floor  of  said  build- 
ing an  automatic  sprinkler  system  in  the  form  and  manner 
approved  in  the  City  of  New  York  by  the  Fire  Commissioner, 
and  elsewhere  throughout  the  State  by  the  State  Fire 
Marshal;  provided,  however,  that  in  no  event  shall  there  be 
more  persons  permitted  on  any  floor  than  would  allow  not 
less  than  36  square  feet  of  floor  space  for  every  person  on 
such  floor  in  a  non-fireproof  building,  and  32  square  feet 
of  floor  space  for  every  such  person  in  a  fireproof  building, 
as  hereinbefore  provided. 

One  year  is  to  be  allowed  for  compliance  with  these  require- 
ments. This  time  may  be  extended  by  the  Fire  Commissioner  in 
New  York  City,  or  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  elsewhere,  for  a 
further  period  not  exceeding  one  year  for  good  cause  shown. 

Buildings  with  Unenclosed  Wooden  Stairways. 

Proof  was  given  that  many  wooden  stairways  unenclosed  or 
enclosed  by  non-fireproof  partitions  exist  in  factory  buildings.  In 
many  cases  they  wind  around  hoist  ways  or  elevator  shafts.  When 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  57 

a  fire  occurs,  it  spreads  through  these  stairways  like  the  flame 
through  a  chimney,  and  renders  escape  by  means  of  the  stairs 
impossible.  The  Commission  believes  it  would  be  too  great 
a  hardship  to  order  the  wooden  stairs  removed  and  fireproof 
ones  erected.  It  believes  that  a  fair  amount  of  safety  will  be 
obtained  by  requiring  that  these  staircases  be  enclosed  by  fire-1 
proof  partitions  or  walls.  This  measure  will,  in  most  cases, 
permit  the  occupants  to  descend  the  stairs  in  safety,  the  fire  being 
checked  at  the  entrance  to  the  stairs.  Doors  leading  to  these  halls 
and  stairways  must,  of  course,  be  made  fireproof. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  tihat  where  there  are  only  a 
few  people  in  the  building  this  precaution  would  be  unnecessary, 
and  -therefore  recommends  that  these  fireproof  partitions  or  walls 
should  be  required  only  in  buildings  where  there  are  more  than 
fifty  people  employed  above  the  ground  floor. 

The  Commission  is  also  of  the  opinion  that  in  such  factory 
buildings  witih  unprotected  wooden  stairways  exterior  fire-escapes 
of  the  required  size  and  construction  should  be  installed  if  not 
already  on  the  building.  The  following  recommendations  are 
made: 

Unenclosed  wooden  stairways. — In  all  factory  buildings  or 
manufacturing  establishments  in  which  more  than  fifty  per- 
sons are  regularly  employed  above  the  ground  floor  or  first 
story,  and  in  which  there  are  unenclosed  wooden  stairways, 
the  said  stairways  shall  be  properly  enclosed  by  partitions  of 
fireproof  or  fire-resisting  material  in  the  form  and  manner 
approved  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  Bureau  of  Build- 
ings, and  Fire  Commissioner,  and  elsewhere  throughout  the 
State  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  local  Fire  Marshals, 
and  all  doors  leading  from  the  work  rooms  of  manufacturing 
establishments  to  said  stairways  shall  be  of  standard  fireproof 
construction. 

Exterior  fire-escapes  shall  also  be  constructed  on  all  such 
buildings  save,  however,  that  existing  outside  fire-escapes  will 
be  accepted  where  the  balconies  are  not  less  than  three  feet 
in  width,  with  stairways  connecting  the  balconies  placed  at 
an  angle  of  not  more  than  sixty  degrees,  with  a  suitable  goose- 
neck ladder  or  stairs  leading  to  the  roof,  and  a  balanced  drop 
ladder  of  sufficient  length,  reaching  from  the  lowest  balcony 


58  REPOKT  OF  COMMISSION. 

to  a  safe  landing  place  beneath,  provided  that  from  the  said 
landing  place,  there  be  a  free  and  unobstructed  exit,  either 
by  means  of  a  door  in  the  fence  leading  to  the  adjoining 
premises,  or  a  fireproof  passageway  leading  to  the  street. 
One  year  is  to  be  allowed  for  compliance  with  these  require- 
ments.    This  time  may  be  extended  by  the  Fire  Commissioner 
in  New  York  city,  or  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  elsewhere,  for 
a  further  period  not  exceeding  one  year,  for  good  cause  shown. 

Buildings  to  be  Erected  in  the  Future : 

As  to  buildings  to  be  erected  in  the  future,  the  Commission 
is  of  the  opinion  that  buildings  over  two  stories  in  height  and 
in  which  more  than  twenty-five  persons  are  employed  should  be 
fireproof  if  used  for  factory  purposes.  That  is  to  say,  they 
should  comply  with  the  conditions  now  provided  by  the  Building 
Code  of  the  City  of  New  York  for  buildings  more  than  150  feet 
in  height. 

The  entire  interior  finish  of  the  factory  building  should  be  fire- 
proof. The  floors,  the  doors,  the  trim,  the  partitions,  all  should 
be  of  fire-resisting  material.  In  tihat  case,  if  a  fire  occurs  in  a 
rubbish  heap,  it  will  burn  itself  out  without  spreading  throughout 
the  floor  or  from  floor  to  floor.  After  investigation,  the  Com- 
mission is  of  tihe  opinion  that  the  added  cost  of  making  a  building 
fireproof  ia  so  small  as  to  be  negligible,  and  that  at  any  rate  the 
builder  will  be  reimbursed  to  a  large  extent  by  the  lessening  of 
insurance  premiums.  All  builders  who  were  consulted  were  of  the 
opinion  that  a  provision  of  this  kind  would  be  of  great  benefit, 
and  would  not  entail  any  serious  hardship. 

The  spread  of  fire  in  loft  buildings  is  very  often  accelerated 
by  the  presence  of  wooden  partitions  dividing  the  lofts.  The 
Commission  at  first  felt  that  something  should  be  done  to  remedy 
these  conditions  in  existing  buildings,  but  as  these  partitions  have 
all  been  erected  with  the  permission  of  the  authorities,  and  as 
their  removal  would  entail  great  hardship  and  expense  and  would, 
in  the  opinion  of  many  experts,  not  confer  any  substantial  benefit, 
the  Commission  finally  decided  not  to  make  any  recommendations 
upon  this  point  at  present.  In  buildings  to  be  erected  in  the 
future,  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  no  non-fireproof 
partitions  should  be  permitted. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  59 

In  conclusion,  the  Commission  believes  that  a  State  Building 
Code  should  be  enacted,  and  hopes  to  be  able  to  present  such  a 
Code  at  some  future  time  to  the  Legislature.  This  will  provide* 
more  careful  regulations  with  regard  to  the  erection  of  factory 
buildings. 


60  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

FACTORY  INSPECTION 

LABOR  LAW  PROVISIONS. 

The  Labor  Law  provides  that  there  shall  be  a  Bureau  of 
Factory  Inspection  with  a  Chief  and  First  Deputy  Commissioner 
and  85  Inspectors  (of  whom  not  more  than  15  shall  be  women). 
The  Commissioner  of  Labor  is  directed  to  divide  the  State  into 
districts,  assigning  one  inspector  to  each  district,  with  power  to 
transfer  inspectors  from  one  district  to  another,  and  with  power  to 
direct  special  inspections.  Power  is  given  to  the  inspectors  to 
enter  any  factory  building,  and  to  the  Commissioner  to  enforce 
any  municipal  ordinance,  by-law  or  regulation  relating  to  factories, 
in  addition  to  the  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law. 

The  law  directs  the  Commissioner  to  visit  all  factories,  li  during 
reasonable  hours  as  often  as  practicable,"  and  to  enforce  the  pro- 
visions of  the  Act. 

DUPLICATION  OF  WORK. 

In  the  cities  of  the  second  class  where  the  supervision  of  fac- 
tories is  under  the  charge  of  the  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety, 
tli ore  is  little  or  no  co-operation  between  the  various  city  officials. 
This  is  partly  true  in  cities  of  the  first  class. 

In  the  City  of  New  York  the  Building  Department,  Health 
Department,  Tenement  House  Department  and  Fire  Department 
have  authority  of  some  kind  over  buildings  which  are  used  for 
factory  purposes,  and  at  the  same  time  the  State  Labor  Depart- 
ment has  partial  authority  for  some  purposes  over  the  same  build- 
ings. For  instance,  ths  Health  Department  of  the  City  of  New 
York  and  the  Labor  Department  have  apparently  concurrent 
jurisdiction  over  bakeries.  The  State  Labor  Department  In  some 
instances,  when  its  inspectors  find  violations  which  exist  under 
local  ordinances  or  laws,  notifies  the  proper  local  Department. 
The  local  Departments  claim  also  that  in  some  cases  where  they 
find  violations  of  the  State  Labor  Law,  they  notify  the  State  Labor 
Department.  But  there  is  very  little  real  co-operation. 

This  duplication  of  authority  is  a  great  evil.  The  responsi- 
bility being  divided,  no  one  Department  or  official  as  a  rule  as- 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  61 

sumes  it,  and  consequently  often  nothing  is  done  to  remedy  patent 
violations  of  the  law.  There  is  a  waste  of  effort  by  all  concerned. 
The  Commission  is  not  able  at  this  time  to  make  any  specific 
recommendation  iu  this  connection.  It  considers  it  necessary  to 
study  the  situation  more  carefully  before  it  can  present  a  prac- 
tical system  in  which  departments  are  effectively  co-related. 

PRESENT  MF.TIIODS  OF  FACTORY  INSPECTION. 

The  last  Legislature  substantially  increased  the  force  of  factory 
inspectors,  and  authorized  the  employment  of  supervising  inspec- 
tors and  a  mechanical  engineer.  At  this  time  the  additional  in- 
spectors have  just  been  appointed,  so  it  cannot  be  said  what  the 
results  will  be  .  In  his  annual  report  for  the  year  1911  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor  says : 

"  No  claim  is  herein  set  up  that  the  Bureau  has  been  able 
to  compel  the  maintenance  of  proper  supervision  at  all  times 
in  every  place  falling  within  its  jurisdiction.  I  can  only 
repeat  what  was  said  before,  that  one  or  two  visits  a  year 
are  not  enough.  We  cannot  by  such  insufficient  observations 
find  out  infractions  of  the  law  and  apply  the  remedies.  The 
Legislature  of  1911  provided  for  a  substantial  increase  in  the 
field  and  office  staff  of  the  Bureau,  but  even  when  fully 
equipped  according  to  the  improved  plan  of  organization,  its 

field  force  will  remain  inadequate  to  enforce  the  law." 
Each  inspector  under  the  present  system  is  required  to  give 
four  hours  each  day  to  field  work,  but  apart  from  this,  seems 
to  pursue  his  work  in  his  own  way.  With  the  exception  of  New 
York  city,  there  is  no  sub-office  where  inspectors  may  be  found. 
A  number  of  the  inspectors  testified  before  the  Commission  and 
gave  accounts  of  how  they  performed  their  work  and  the  manner 
and  substance  of  it. 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  assigns  one  inspector  to  each 
district,  usually  to  the  city  or  locality  in  which  he  lives  and  where 
he  has  been,  in  many  cases,  a  life-long  resident. 

Each  factory  is  usually  inspected  but  once  a  year,  the  inspectors 
claiming  they  are  unable  to  make  more  inspections  because  of 
the  great  number  of  factories.  The  inspectors  keep  their  own 
records  and  lists  of  the  factories  in  their  districts.  They  testified 


62  REPORT  or  COMMISSION. 

that  they  had  no  way  of  locating  new  factories  except  by  chance. 
It  was  stated  that  some  factories  have  been  in  existence  for  years 
without  ever  having  been  inspected. 

It  was  claimed  that  in  many  cases  the  inspector's  visit  was 
known  beforehand.  The  average  inspector  first  visits  the  office, 
obtains  some  statistical  information,  and  then,  in  company  with 
the  proprietor  or  his  representative,  goes  through  the  manufac- 
turing department.  Employees  testified  that  this  method  of 
inspection  prevented  them  from  complaining  to  the  factory  in- 
spector of  violations  of  law.  Testimony  was  given  to  the  effect 
that  on  some  occasions  while  the  inspector  was  in  the 
office  interviewing  the  employer,  various  immediate  changes,  in- 
volving certain  violations,  were  effected,  exits  cleared,  and  general 
cleaning  done,  so  that  the  place  presented  a  decent  aspect  when 
the  inspector  finally  appeared.  A  witness  testified  that  children 
working  illegally  were  removed  from  the  building  either  before  the 
inspector  arrived  or  while  he  was  in  the  office  interviewing  the 
proprietor,  and  that  in  some  cases  the  children  were  put  in  the 
elevators,  which  were  lowered  so  they  were  between  the  floors  and 
could  not  be  seen. 

In  each  case,  the  inspector  fills  out  a  form  in  duplicate  showing 
the  results  of  his  inspection  and  sends  it  to  the  home  office.  The 
clerical  work  takes  about  one-half  the  working  day  of  the  average 
inspector. 

PROCEDURE  IN  CASE  OF  VIOLATION. 

1.  VIOLATIONS  FOUND  BY  AN  INSPECTOR. 

The  inspector  reports  a  violation  of  law  to  the  home  office,,  and 
if  that  office  approves,  a  notice  is  sent  to  the  offending  manufac- 
turer calling  his  attention  to  such  violation  and  directing  him  to 
remedy  the  same  within  a  specified  time,  usually  thirty  days.  A 
copy  of  this  notice  is  sent  to  the  inspector. 

In  the  course  of  time  the  inspector  visits  the  offending  man- 
ufacturer to  ascertain  if  he  has  complied  with  the  notice.  If  he 
finds  he  has  not,  he  reports  a  second  time,  and  the  Department 
again  notifies  the  manufacturer  that  he  must  comply.  The  in- 
spector again  visits  the  offending  manufacturer  to  ascertain  if  the 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  63 

notice  has  been  complied  with.  If  he  finds  that  it  has  not,  he 
notifies  the  Department  once  more,  and  the  matter  is  then  referred 
to  counsel. 

Mr.  Cunningham,  counsel  for  the  Labor  Department,  testified 
before  the  Commission.  From  October  1st,  1910,  to  September 
30th,  1911,  there  were  413  separate  charges  of  violation  of  the 
law,  in  which  there  were  246  convictions.  Fines  were  imposed 
in  95  cases;  sentence  suspended  in  151.  The  procedure  is  this: 
If  the  manufacturer  fails  to  comply  with  the  notices  to  remedy 
the  violations  of  law,  the  matter  is  then  referred  to  counsel. 
The  counsel,  sometimes  after  conferring  with  the  inspector  in 
charge  and  sometimes  simply  on  proof  that  the  orders  have  not 
been  complied  with,  sends  a  written  communication  to  the  manu- 
facturer informing  him  that  unless  he  complies  he  will  be  sued 
or  prosecuted  criminally.  When  a  certain  number  of  days  has 
expired,  the  counsel  sends  an  inspector  to  ascertain  if  the  orders 
have  been  complied  with.  If  the  notices  have  been  disregarded  it 
becomes  the  inspector's  duty  to  find  the  owner,  or  his  agent,  confer 
with  him  personally  and  ascertain  whether  be  will  comply  with  the 
notice.  The  purpose  of  such  personal  interview  with  .the  owner  or 
his  agent  is  to  establish  the  responsibility  of  such  person  with  re- 
spect to  the  Department's  order.  A  warrant  is  then  obtained  and 
the  offending  party  is  brought  to  court.  In  the  meantime  a  long 
delay  frequently  occurs,  and  the  premises  remain  in  their  unlawful 
condition  sometimes  three  or  four  months.  Upon  the  return  of 
the  warrant,  if  the  factory  owner  pleads  not  guilty,  the  case  is 
held  by  the  Magistrate  for  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions  or  corre- 
sponding court.  This  necessitates  additional  delay,  and  when  the 
case  comes  up  for  hearing  there  are  usually  several  postponements. 
When  the  case  is  finally  reached  for  trial,  several  months  may  have 
elapsed  since  the  first  notice  was  served  upon  the  manufacturer. 
The  manufacturer  appears  on  the  final  day  of  adjournment,  in- 
forms the  Court  that  he  has  performed  the  work,  pleads  guilty  and 
is  usually  discharged  or  sentence  suspended. 

It  also  appeared  that  after  the  warrant  is  obtained  no  inspection? 
are  made  by  the  Department  until  the  case  has  come  to  trial,  and 
then  if  the  manufacturer  states  that  the  work  has  been  done  the 


64  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

case  is  dismissed  or  another  adjournment  is  taken  in  order  to 
permit  an  investigation  to  see  if  the  statement  is  true. 

Mr.  Cunningham  testified  to  a  typical  case  of  delay.  A  manu- 
facturer was  ordered  on  January  30th,  1911,  to  light  the  halls  and 
place  the  toilets  in  a  sanitary  condition.  The  warrant  for  his 
arrest  was  issued  on  the  26th  day  of  June,  1911,  six  months 
after  the  first  notice  was  sent.  During  all  this  time  the  conditions 
complained  of  continued  to  exist.  The  defendant  was  arraigned 
on  July  7th,  1911.  Adjournment  was  had  until  August  2nd, 
when  he  was  held  for  the  Court  of  Special  Sessions.  On  October 
2nd,  1911,  the  defendant  pleaded  guilty  and  was  ordered  to  appear 
for  sentence  on  the  9th  day  of  October.  Then  the  inspector  of 
the  Labor  Department  reported  that  the  conditions  had  been 
remedied,  and  the  Court  suspended  sentence. 

It  was  suggested  that  this  condition  could  be  remedied  by  simply 
obtaining-  a  summons  for  the  owner  when  the  Department  reported 
that  its  notices  had  been  disregarded  by  the  manufacturer.  The 
owner  would  then  in  all  probability  have  the  work  done  at  once 
under  notice  that  if  he  did  not,  a  warrant  would  be  issued.  No 
reason  was  advanced  why  thii®  procedure  should  not  be  adopted. 

In  the  matter  of  doors  opening  inwardly,  there  was  only  one 
action  during  the  fiscal  year  ending  September  30th,  1911,  only 
ten  actions  for  locked  doors  during  the  same  period,  and  only 
one  prosecution  for  obstructed  passageways  leading  to  a  fire-escape. 
In  the  one  prosecution  for  doors  not  opening  outwardly,  the  Court 
suspended  sentence  after  several  months7  delay.  The  prosecutions 
for  locked  doors  resulted  in  seven  fines  and  three  suspended  sen- 
tences. The  majority,  of  these  prosecutions  were  after  the  Tri- 
angle Waist  Company  fire. 

With  reference  to  prosecutions  for  child  labor,  when  the  defend- 
ant employs  more  than  one  child  illegally,  separate  complaints  are 
made  against  the  manufacturer  in  each  case.  It  is  apparently  the 
practice  of  some  judges  to  convict  upon  one  case  and  suspend 
sentence  in  others,  and  this,  the  Commission  believes,  accounts  for 
the  large  number  of  suspended  sentences. 

2.  COMPLAINTS  MADE  TO  THE  DEPARTMENT. — In  many  cases 
persons  interested  complain  of  specific  violations  of  the  law  in  vari- 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  65 

cms  factories.  These  complaints  are  sometimes  in  writing  and 
sometimes  are  made  orally  to  different  inspectors  and  authorities. 
Oral  complaints  receive  no  special  attention,  the  Department 
only  classifying  written  communications  as  complaints.  Writ- 
ten complaints  sent  to  the  home  office  at  Albany  are  referred  to 
inspectors,  who  are  directed  to  make  special  investigations  to  ascer- 
tain if  the  complaints  are  justified.  If  they  are  justified,  the  same 
course  of  action  is  taken  as  when  the  inspector  finds  the  violation 
without  complaint.  ]\1  r.  ( 'harles  Yates,  testifying  before  the  Com- 
mission, gave  a  typical  case.  He  complained  on  December  3rd, 
1!»()9,  to  the  factory  inspector  in  Syracuse  albout  improper  condi- 
ii"iis  there.  He  made  three  specific  complaints.  When  he  called 
the  attention  of  the  inspectors  to  violations  of  the  law  they  told 
him  that  he  must  first  lodge  his  complaints  at  Albany.  He  testi- 
fied that  he  had  objected  to  the  needless  exaction  of  a  written  com- 
plaint, to  the  Commissioner  of  the  Labor  Department,  and  pro- 
duced a  letter  from  the  Commissioner,  which  is  in  evidence,  in 
which  the  Commissioner  informs  him  that  it  is  necessary  for  the 
proper  supervision  of  the  affairs  of  the  Department  that  complaints 
be  lodged  directly  with  his  office.  The  Commissioner  of  Labor 
states  that  he  has  not  permitted  oral  complaints  to  be  made  because 
of  the  danger  of  such  complaints  not  reaching  him  on  account  of 
f  orgetf  ulness  or  being  overlooked  'by  the  inspectors,  but  he  informs 
the  Commission  that  the  new  supervising  inspectors  will  be  allowed 
to  receive  complaints  directly.  Oral  complaints  to  the  inspectors 
should  be  encouraged,  in  order  that  they  may  be  informed  of  the 
facts.  The  Labor  Department  and  the  inspectors  should  welcome 
facts  with  reference  to  any  violation,  no  matter  how  received. 

DIVISION  OF  MEDICAL  INSPECTION. 

In  addition  to  the  other  inspectors,  a  physician  is  appointed  as 
medical  inspector  of  factories  in  the  Labor  Department.  He  has  no 
regular  assistants,  though  a  factory  inspector  is  detailed  to  help 
him. 

He  examines  factories  in  order  to  ascertain  the  danger  of 
poisoning  or  disease  resulting  from  the  various  processes  of  manu- 
t'acture,  makes  special  investigations,  and  also  does  some  research 
work.  The  Department,  however,  has  no  authority  to  make  a 


66  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

physical  examination  of  the  workers.  Practically  no  educational 
work  is  done  'by  the  Department  of  Labor,  either  by  issuing 
pamphlets  of  instructions  to  employers  and  employees  on  dangers 
in  different  industries  and  the  means  of  avoiding  them,  or  bv  in- 

O  v 

structing  the  inspectors  so  to  inform  the  workers.  Abstracts  of  the 
Labor  Law  are  posted  only  in  the  English  language,  though  in 
many  cases  the  employees  are  not  able  to  read  English,  even  if 
they  understand  the  spoken  language. 

Dr.  C.  T.  Graham-Rogers,  the  medical  inspector,  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  rendered  valuable  service  to  the 
Commission. 

MUSEUM  OF  SAFETY. 

Public-spirited  citizens  have  maintained  in  the  City  of  New 
York  a  Museum  of  Safety,  wherein  is  exhibited  safety  devices  of  all 
kinds  to  be  placed  upon  machinery,  and  to  be  worn  and  used  by 
employees. 

In  most  of  the  European  countries  such  a  museum  is  maintained 
by  the  Government.  The  advisability  of  the  establishment  of  such 
a  museum  as  a  branch  of  the  State  Department  of  Labor  is  a  matter 
that  should  be  carefully  considered. 

Further,  the  Department  of  Labor  should  at  any  rate  issue  from 
time  to  time  descriptive  pamphlets  to  employers  and  employees, 
informing  them  fully  of  all  newly  discovered  or  invented  safety 
devices,  giving  instructions  in  their  use  and  application,  calling 
attention  to  dangerous  accidents  and  means  of  avoiding  them,  and 
impressing  upon  both  employer  and  employee  the  importance  of 
these  safety  devices. 

The  attitude  of  the  State  of  New  York  in  dealing  with  these 
problems  should  be  that  of  a  teacher,  conservator  and  guide,  and 
not  that  of  a  police  officer  attempting  either  to  detect  or  to  arrest  a 
criminal. 

FURTHER  INVESTIGATION  BY  THIS  COMMISSION  AS  TO  FACTORY 

INSPECTION. 

It  is  substantially  conceded  that  the  present  system  of  factory 
inspection  is  totally  inadequate.  No  doubt  this  condition  is  partly 


EEPOET  OF  COMMISSION.  67 

clue  to  the  lack  of  a  sufficient  number  of  inspectors  and  adequate 
means  of  determining  what  factories  exist  or  where  they  are 
located. 

Duplication  of  inspections  by  State  and  local  Departments  should 
be  avoided,  and  there  should  be  more  co-operation  between  the  local 
Departments  in  the  various  cities  and  the  State  Department  of 
Labor.  There  should  be  better  and  closer  supervision  of  inspec- 
tors, and  a  higher  grade  of  inspectors,  with  technical  training, 
should  be  attracted  to  the  service  of  the  State.  This  would  prob- 
ably involve  an  increase  in  salaries,  and  the  establishment  of  a  new 
grade  of  assistant  supervising  inspectors.  There  should,  of  course, 
be  far  more  frequent  inspections.  These  should  be  made  at  irregu- 
lar intervals,  without  previous  knowledge  by  the  manufacturer,  and 
the  factory  proper  should  be  inspected  before  the  manufacturer 
is  called  upon  for  any  information.  Inspectors  should  spend 
more  time  in  inspection  and  less  in  clerical  work. 

Cities  of  the  first  class  and  the  larger  cities  of  the  second  class, 
should  have  sub-offices  in  the  real  sense  of  the  word,  with  a  super- 
vising inspector  permanently  established  in  charge.  Records  of  the 
factories  in  those  cities  should  be  kept  in  these  sub-offices.  All  vio- 
lation orders  affecting  that  locality  should  come  from  the  sub-office, 
and  factory  inspection  in  that  locality  should  be  directed  from  the 
sub-office.  An  educational  campaign  should  at  once  be  begun  to 
instruct  both  employer  and  employee  as  to  what  should  be  done 
and  what  should  be  avoided  to  make  the  life  of  the  employee  health- 
ful and  to  avoid  danger. 

As  to  the  Labor  Law  itself,  the  Commission  feels  that  more  power 
should  be  given  to  the  Commissioner  to  provide  for  specific  cases 
by  rules  and  regulations  and  that  the  law  should  not  attempt  to 
cover  every  detail. 

The  law  relating  to  safeguards  upon  machinery  should  be  im- 
proved and  extended  so  as  to  cover  not  only  machinery,  but  danger- 
ous fumes  and  chemicals.  A  system  for  the  more  comprehensive 
safeguarding  of  elevators  should  be  devised,  particularly  so-called 
"freight  elevators."  These,  while  ostensibly  only  to  be  used  for 
carrying  freight,  are  used  for  the  carrying  of  great  numbers  of 
operatives  in  factory  and  loft  buildings. 

A  Board  of  Experts  should  be  established,  which,  together  with 
the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  should  have  the  power  to  formulate 


68  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

and  enforce  rules  and  regulations  upon  the  subjects  of  sanitation 
and  accident  prevention  in  all  their  phases  and  applying  to  all 
industries. 

Provision  should  be  made  for  the  appointment  of  trained  in- 
spectors. It  was  quite  apparent  that  many  of  the  inspectors  do 
wot  possess  the  technical  training  necessary  for  competent  treatment 
of  the  intricate  problems  of  safeguarding  machinery. 

The  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  should  be  increased  and 
strengthened. 

Above  all,  delay  in  enforcing  the  law  should  'be  avoided,  and  the 
wrongdoer  promptly  and  speedily  punished. 

These  matters  present  very  serious  questions  for  consideration, 
and  the  Commission  hopes  that  during  its  extension  it  will  be  able 
to  make  recommendations  looking  towards  the  improvement  of  the 
entire  system. 

REGISTRATION  OF  FACTORIES. 

The  Commission  will  make  but  few  recommendations  under  this 
subject  at  this  time,  but  after  careful  investigation,  it  believes  that 
registration  should  be  required  of  all  factories  in  order  that  the 
Department  of  Labor  may  be  informed  as  to  the  ownership  and 
location  of  every  factory  in  the  State.  This  is  done  in  almost  all 
European  countries.  The  following  are  the  countries  in  Europe 
which  require  such  registration: 

Germany:  §§  138,  139b,  par.  5  of  the  Industrial  Code,  the 
Police  Orders  relating  to  the  giving  of  notice  to  the  inspectors  and 
the  Imperial  Order  of  9th  July,  1900,  R.  G.,  Bl,  p.  565ff. 

Austria:    §  11  of  the  Industrial  Code. 

Denmark:    §  2  of  the  Factory  Act  of  1901. 

Finland:  §  2  of  the  Industrial  Code  of  31st  March,  1879,  and 
17  of  the  Industrial  Inspectors  Instructions  of  31st  December, 
1889. 

United  Kingdom:  §  127  of  the  Factory  and  Workshop  Act  of 
1901;  factories  and  workshops  only. 

Hungary:    §  4  of  Act  No.  XVII  of  1884. 

Russia:    §§  69-74  of  Industrial  Code;  factories  to  be  licensed. 

Norway:    §  3  of  the  Act  of  10th  September,  1909. 

Sweden:    §  9  of  the  Act  of  18th  June,  1864. 

Switzerland:    §  3  of  the  Factory  Act  of  1877. 


KEPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  69 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Registration  of  existing  factories. —  The  owner  of  every 
factory  shall  be  required  to  register  with  the  Labor 
Department  within  six  months  from  the  date  of  the  passage 
of  this  act,  giving  the  name,  home  address  of  the  owner,  the 
address  of  the  business,  the  name  under  which  it  is  carried 
on,  the  number  of  employees  and  such  other  data  as  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor  may  require.  Such  registration  shall 
be  upon  a  form  furnished  by  the  said  Commissioner. 

Registration  of  new  factories. — The  owner  of  every  fac- 
tory shall  be  required  to  register  with  the  Labor  Depart- 
ment within  thirty  days  after  he  begins  business,  giving  the 
name  and  home  address  of  the  owner,  the  address  of  the 
business,  the  name  under  which  it  is  carried  on,  the  number 
of  employees  and  such  other  data  as  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor  may  require.  Such  registration  shall  be  upon  a  form 
furnished  by  the  said  Commissioner. 

The  Commission  also  recommends  that  abstracts  of  the  Labor 
Law  and  the  provisions  thereof  applicable  to  factories  which  are 
H'»\V  posted  in  the  English  language,  should  be  posted  in  large  type 
and  simple  words  in  such  foreign  languages  as  the  Commissioner 
in  his  discretion  may  deem  advisable. 

SUMMARY  POWER  OVER  UNCLEAN  FACTORIES. 

It  is  apparent  that  where  a  factory  is  found  to  be  unclean  and 
insanitary,  there  should  be  summary  power  conferred  upon  the 
( 'oimnissioner  of  Labor,  the  exercise  of  which  will  result  in  the 
speedy  and  effective  remedying  of  the  conditions  complained  of. 
This  power  is  in  part  conferred  by  section  95  of  the  Labor  Law, 
which  authorizes  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to  place  the  unclean 
tag  on  any  of  the  articles  specified  in  section  100  of  the  Labor 
Law  (41  in  number),  exposed  to  contagious  disease  or  in  an  unclean 
or  insanitary  workroom  in  any  tenant  factory. 

The  Commission  believes  that  this  power  to  affix  the  unclean 
label  should  be  extended  to  apply  to  any  articles  found  exposed  to 
contagion  or  in  an  unclean  or  insanitary  workroom  in  any  factory. 


70  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

There  is  no  valid  reason  for  limiting  the  exercise  of  the  power  to 
the  case  of  tenant  factories,  or  to  the  41  specified  articles. 

Testimony  was  given  of  foul  and  insanitary  workrooms  in  which 
human  hair  goods  were  prepared,  yet  because  those  articles  are  not 
specified  in.  section  100,  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  was  powerless 
to  force  the  immediate  correction  of  the  defective  conditions  and 
was  obliged  to  resort  to  legal  proceedings. 

The  Commission,  therefore,  recommends  the  amendment  of  sec- 
tion 95  of  the  Labor  Law  so  that  it  reads  as  follows: 

Sec.  95.  Unclean  (tenant}  factories. — If  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor  finds  evidence  of  contagious  diseases 
present  in  any  (tenant)  factory  (in  which  any  of  the  articles 
enumerated  in  section  100  herewith  are  manufactured, 
altered,  repaired  or  finished)  he  shall  affix  to  any  (such) 
articles  therein  exposed  to  such  contagion  a  label  containing 
the  word  "  unclean,"  and  shall  notify  the  local  board  of 
health,  who  may  disinfect  such  articles  and  thereupon  remove 
such  label.  If  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  finds  (any  of  the 
articles  specified  in  said  section  100)  in  any  workroom  or 
factory  (in  a  tenant  factory)  which  is  foul,  unclean,  or  un- 
sanitary, he  may,  after  first  making  and  filing  in  the  public 
records  of  his  office  a  written  order  stating  the  reasons  there- 
for, affix  to  (such)  any  articles  therein  found  a  label  con- 
taining the  word  "  unclean."  No  one  but  the  Commissioner 
of  Labor  shall  remove  any  label  so  affixed ;  and  he  may 
refuse  to  remove  it  until  such  articles  shall  have  been 
removed  from  such  factory  and  cleaned,  or  until  such  room 
or  rooms  shall  have  been  cleaned  or  made  sanitary. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  71 


SANITATION    OF    FACTORIES    AND   MANUFAC- 
TURING ESTABLISHMENTS 

CLEANLINESS. 

Cleanliness  is  naturally  the  first  necessity  of  a  proper  work- 
place, yet  the  great  majority  of  factories  examined  by  the  Commis- 
sion were  found  to  be  in  an  uncleanly  condition.  Of  the  10,000 
\vorkers  employed  in  the  establishments  examined  by  Miss  Gold- 
mark,  7  per  cent  were  found  working  in  clean  and  well-kept 
workrooms,  58  per  cent  in  fairly  clean  and  well-kept  workrooms, 
31  per  cent  in  dirty  workrooms,  and  4  per  cent  in  very  dirty 
workrooms.  There  seemed  to  be  no  difference  in  this  regard  be- 
tween establishments  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  elsewhere 
throughout  the  State. 

The  Commission  found  that  establishments  manufacturing  food- 
stuffs were  the  dirtiest  of  all.  Forty-five  per  cent  of  all  the  estab- 
lishments inspected  by  the  Commission  were  either  in  a  dirty  or 
very  dirty  condition.  Only  a  very  small  number  could  be  denom- 
inated as  entirely  clean  shops. 

SANITARY  NECESSITIES. 

The  condition  of  the  toilets  in  most  of  the  factories  was  very 
bad.  The  flush  was  usually  found  to  be  inadequate.  Very  often 
the  plumbing  was  out  of  order.  The  ventilation  of  these  compart- 
ments was  usually  poor.  Their  position  as  regards  the  rest  of  the 
factory  floor  was  improper,  and  very  many  of  them  were  dark.  Of 
those  inspected  by  the  Commission,  24  per  cent  were  dirty  and  16 
per  cent  were  very  dirty.  These  deplorable  conditions  apply  not 
only  to  the  small  establishments.  Some  of  the  largest  industrial 
establishments  are  at  fault.  Of  the  group  of  buildings  examined 
by  Miss  Goldmark,  3.5  per  cent  of  the  toilets  were  found  to  be  in 
back  yards,  9  per  cent  in  halls,  and  87.5  per  cent  in  compartments 
or  rooms  connected  with  the  workrooms. 

The  present  law  is  general,  and  simply  provides  that  there  should 
be  a  sufficient  number  of  toilets  for  the  use  of  workmen. 


72  REPOBT  OF  COMMISSION. 

VENTILATION. 

The  problem  of  securing  proper  ventilation  in  factory  building? 
is  one  of  the  utmost  importance.  The  necessity  for  furnishing 
fresh  and  pure  air  in  our  homes  has  long  been  appreciated.  It  is 
of  still  greater  importance  in  factories,  where  a  large  number  of 
persons  are  employed,  and  where  the  materials  and  processes  often 
generate  dust,  noxious  gases  and  fumes,  which  are  permitted  to 
mingle  with  and  contaminate  the  air  in  the  entire  establishment. 

Of  all  the  establishments  inspected  under  the  supervision  of  the 
Commission,  only  14  per  cent  attempted  to  secure  proper  ventilation 
by  means  of  mechanical  devices  for  the  removal  of  bad  air,  or  for 
the  introduction  of  a  regular  supply  of  fresh  air.  The  remaining 
86  per  cent  relied  solely  on  the  windows  for  their  ventilation.  In 
cold  weather  the  windows  were,  of  course,  closed  and  failed  to 
serve  their  purpose  as  mediums  of  ventilation. 

The  present  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law  on  the  subject  of  ven- 
tilation are,  it  is  generally  conceded,  entirely  inadequate.  Section 
8:6  of  the  Labor  Law  simply  requires  that  proper  and  adequate  ven- 
tilation shall  be  furnished  in  all  factories  and  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments. No  standards  are  set.  No  working  test  is  provided  in 
the  law  by  which  the  amount  of  impurity  existing  in  the  air  can 
be  determined. 

A  cubic  space  of  400  feet  for  each  adult  worker  should  be  in- 
sisted upon  in  all  factories,  with  the  additional  standard  of  a  floor 
space  of  from  32  to  36  square  feet  per  person,  and  the  passageways 
already  provided  for. 

This,  of  course,  while  relieving  the  congestion  and  incidentally 
affecting  the  purity  of  the  air  in  the  workroom,  does  not  solve  the 
problem  of  ventilation.  It  is  necessary  that  some  means  be  pro- 
vided for  a  constant  renewal  of  all  the  air  in  the  workroom  in 
which  manufacturing  is  carried  on,  and  that  provision  be  made  for 
the  removal  of  dust,  gases  and  fumes  at  their  point  of  origin  to 
prevent  them  from  mixing  with  the  air  breathed  by  the  workers. 
The  importance  of  the  latter  provision  can  readily  be  appreciated 
when  it  is  considered  that  the  so-called  "  dusty  trades  "  furnish  over 
60  per  cent  of  the  victims  of  tuberculosis  among  factory  workers. 

As  to  general  ventilation  in  factory  buildings,  the  Commission 
is  not  yet  ready  to  set  forth  definite  standards  and  requirements. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  73 

The  preliminary  investigation  conducted  by  the  Commission  shows 
that  there  is  at  present  no  unanimity  of  opinion  among  experts  as 
to  what  these  standards  should  be.  It  is  conceded  that  the  present 
ventilation  in  factory  buildings  is  entirely  unsatisfactory.  The 
methods  to  be  adopted  to  remedy  this  condition  will  have  to  be 
determined  as  a  result  of  further  study  and  investigation. 

As  to  humidity,  testimony  was  given  by  Prof.  C.  E.  A.  Winslow, 
an  acknowledged  expert  on  ventilation,  that  a  dry  bulb  temperature 
above  75°  F.  and  a  wet  bulb  temperature  above  70°  are  extremely 
injurious  to  health.  Many  places  were  found  where  (his  tempera- 
ture was  greatly  exceeded,  while  in  some  instances  a  dry  bulb  tem- 
perature of  98°  F.  and  a  wet  bulb  temperature  of  90°  were  found. 

Naturally,  these  conditions  predispose  to  tuberculosis  and  other 
respiratory  diseases.  Pulmonary  tuberculosis  was  found  by  the 
Commission  to  be  especially  prevalent  among  garment  workers, 
printers  and  cigarmakers,  because  of  the  crowded  workrooms  and 
absence  of  ventilation.  There  should  be  a  standard  as  to  the  degree 
of  temperature  permitted  in  the  workroom.  Power  should  be  given 
to  the  Labor  Department  to  enact  and  enforce  rules  in  industries 
where  extremes  of  temperature  are  likely  to  occur,  and  self- 
recording  thermometers  should  be  maintained. 

The  entire  subject  of  ventilation  must  be  approached  with  a 
spirit  of  fairness  to  all  concerned.  Ill-considered  standards  would 
mean  unnecessary  and  useless  expense  without  accomplishing  any- 
thing. In  the  case  of  the  public  schools,  which  present  a  com- 
paratively simple  problem  of  ventilation,  the  use  of  mechanical 
means  has  caused  much  criticism.  It  is  stated,  however,  that 
the  reason  for  the  failure  of  the  system  is  that  those  in  charge 
do  not  understand  how  to  keep  it  in  working  order,  and  that  it 
work?  admirably  if  kept  in  perfect  order. 

The  experts  consulted  by  the  Commission  recommend  that  forced 
ventilating  systems  should  be  adopted  in  all  manufacturing 
establishments.  The  Commission  desires  to  give  the  matter 
further  study,  in  order  to  ascertain  whether  it  is  possible 
to  lay  down  a  standard  in  the  law  for  all  industries,  or  whether 
special  rules  and  regulations  should  be  fixed  for  the  different  indus- 
tries. If  a  standard  can  be  set,  the  Commission  desires  to  be  in  a 


74  REPOKT  OF  COMMISSION. 

position  to  inform  the  manufacturer  just  what  means  will  have  to 
be  adopted  to  comply  with  that  standard. 

LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION. 

There  is  no  standard  whatsoever  as  to  light  and  illumination 
in  factories.  Defective  light  and  illumination  are  known  to  be 
injurious  to  the  eyes  of  the  worker.  Insufficient  light  causes 
eye-strain,  and  gradually  undermines  the  general  health.  In- 
vestigation showed  that  52  per  cent  of  the  factories  inspected 
used  artificial  light  during  the  daytime,  and  the  light,  even  where 
sufficient,  was  improperly  placed  with  relation  to  the  workers. 
Often  the  lights  were  too  near,  and  no  protection  was  given 
from  glare.  This  is  true,  not  alone  in  the  small  shops,  but  in  the 
larger  ones.  Mr.  E.  L.  Elliott,  an  illuminating  engineer,  testified 
that  the  brilliancy  and  intensity  of  light  could  be  measured  by  a 
recently  invented  machine,  and  that  therefore  it  would  be  easy  to 
fix  proper  standards  of  light. 

The  Commission  desires  to  give  this  matter  study  and  thought, 
so  as  to  be  able  to  make  appropriate  recommendations. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

Section  86  of  the  Labor  Law  contains  a  provision  for  the  removal 
of  dust,  gases  and  fumes  generated  in  the  processes  of  manufacture. 
This  provision,  as  it  stands,  is  inadequate,  and,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories,  is  incapable  of 
enforcement. 

The  Commission,  however,  feels  it  can  safely  recommend  the 
following  amendment,  so  that  the  latter  portion  of  section  86  shall 
read  as  follows: 

If  excessive  heat  be  created,  or  if  steam,  gases,  vapors, 
dust  or  other  impurities  that  may  be  injurious  to  health, 
be  generated  in  the  course  of  the  manufacturing  pro- 
cess carried  on  therein,  proper  hoods  and  pipes  connected 
with  an  exhaust  fan  of  sufficient  capacity  and  power  to 
remove  such  dust  or  impurities  at  their  point  of  origin  and 
prevent  them  from  mingling  with  the  air  in  the  room,  shall 
be  provided.  Such  fan  shall  be  kept  running  constantly  while 
the  dust,  gases  and  fumes  are  being  generated. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  75 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES 

The  subject  of  disease  caused  by  the  occupation  of  the  workers 
presents  a  vast  field  for  study  and  investigation.  Morbidity  statis- 
tics in  this  country  are  entirely  inadequate. 

A  large  number  of  industries  deal  with  harmful  or  poisonous 
materials  which  are  liable  to  endanger  the  health  and  life  of  the 
workers.  Some  of  these  poisons  could  be  entirely  eliminated  by 
the  substitution  of  non-poisonous  materials,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
phosphorous  match  industry  and  others.  The  means  of  preventing 
many  of  these  diseases  is  apparently  the  education  of  both  employer 
and  employee  in  regard  to  the  dangers  involved,  as  many  of  them 
are  at  present  absolutely  ignorant  of  the  effects  of  the  various 
poisonous  matters. 

The  Commission  has  been  able  to  give  but  brief  attention  to  this 
important  subject,  and  has  investigated  only  one  form  of  occupa- 
tional disease, —  that  known  as  "  lead  poisoning." 

LEAD  POISONING. 

The  preliminary  investigations  conducted  for  the  Commission 
by  Prof.  E.  E.  Pratt  show  that  the  methods  by  which  these  indus- 
trial poisons  may  enter  the  system  are  three: 

1.  Through  the  mouth  and  digestive  system. 

2.  Through  the  respiratory  system. 

3.  Through  the  skin. 

In  the  lead  factories,  meals  were  eaten  by  the  employees  in  the 
workrooms  where  the  poisonous  materials  were  used.  No  adequate 
washing  facilities  were  provided,  and  no  adequate  provision  made 
for  the  removal  of  the  poisonous  dusts,  gases  and  fumes  at  their 
point  of  origin,  so  as  to  prevent  their  inhalation  by  the  worker. 

The  results  of  the  investigation  clearly  indicate  the  necessity  for 
the  following  provisions  and  safeguards: 


76  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

1.  The  prohibition  of  the  eating  of  meals  in  any  working  room 
where  any  poisonous  dust,  gases  or  fumes  are  generated  in  process 
of  manufacture. 

2.  The  mandatory  requirement  of  ample  washing  facilities,  in- 
cluding hot  water,  in  all  factories  where  such  poisonous  materials 
are  used. 

3.  An  adequate  system  of  forced  ventilation  to  remove  the  dust, 
gases  and  fumes  at  their  point  of  origin. 

The  last  requirement  has  already  been  included  in  the  recom- 
mendations made  by  the  Commission  with  regard  to  amending  sec- 
tion 86  of  the  Labor  Law. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The  Commission  at  this  time,  therefore,  recommends  the  follow- 
ing amendments  to  the  Labor  Law: 

Amend  section  88  of  the  Labor  Law  by  adding  thereto  the  fol- 
lowing provision : 

In  all  establishments  where  lead,  arsenic,  or  other  poison- 
ous substances  or  injurious  or  noxious  fumes,  dust,  or  gases 
are  present  as  the  result  of  the  business  conducted  by  such 
factory,  there  shall  be  provided  ample  washing  facilities, 
including  hot  water  and  individual  towels. 

Amend  the  Labor  Law  by  adding  a  new  section,  to  be  known  as 
section  89a: 

Prohibition  of  Eating  Meals  in  Certain  Workrooms: 
No  employee  shall  take  or  be  allowed  to  take  food  into  any 
room  or  apartment  in  any  factory,  mercantile  establishment, 
mill  or  workshop,  commercial  institution,  or  other  establish- 
ment or  working  place  where  lead,  arsenic,  or  other  poison- 
ous substance,  or  injurious  or  noxious  fumes,  dust  or  gases 
under  harmful  conditions  are  present,  as  a  result  of  the  busi- 
ness conducted  by  such  factory,  mercantile  establishment, 
mill  or  workshop,  commercial  institution,  or  other  establish- 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  77 

ment  or  working  place,  and  notice  to  this  effect  shall  be 
posted  in  each  room  or  apartment.  No  employee,  except 
where  his  presence  is  necessary  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the 
business,  shall  remain  in  any  such  room  or  apartment  during 
the  time  allowed  for  meals,  and  suitable  provisions  shall  be 
made  and  maintained  by  the  employer  to  enable  the  em- 
ployees to  take  their  meals  elsewhere  in  such  establishment. 

These  recommendations  are,  however,  only  a  preliminary  step. 
The  substitution  of  harmless  substances  for  poisonous  materials  used 
in  manufacture  where  practicable,  the  licensing  of  all  dangerous 
trades  and  occupations,  the  compulsory  physical  examination  of  all 
workers  in  such  trades,  the  necessity  for  special  rules  and  regula- 
tions for  the  different  industries  affected  are  matters  which  re- 
quire careful  consideration. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  lives  are  annually  lost  and 
severe  illnesses  are  caused  by  the  failure  to  take  ordinary  precau- 
tions in  using  poisonous  articles  in  manufacturing.  The  greatest 
cause  of  sickness  and  death  is  ignorance,  and  the  Labor  Depart- 
ment should  see  to  it  that  the  dangers,  and  the  means  of  avoiding 
them  are  brought  forcibly  and  unmistakably  before  both  employer 
and  employee. 


78  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  \ 

BAKERIES 

NUMBER  OF  BAKERIES  IN  THE  STATE. 

According  to  the  Census  of  1910,  there  were  in  1909  in  New 
York  State  2,962  bakeries  employing  13,676  workingmeu.  The 
number  of  bakeries  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  was 
as  follows: 

New  York 2,489 

Buffalo 190 

Rochester 106 

Syracuse 73 

Albany 64 

Troy 41 

Yonkers    35 

Utica    28 

JURISDICTION  OVER  BAKERIES. 

In  the  city  of  New  York,  the  State  Labor  Department,  the 
Board  of  Health  and  the  Tenement  House  Department  have  each 
some  jurisdiction  over  bakeries,  and  bakeries  have  been  recently 
inspected  not  only  by  the  officials  of  these  Departments  but  also  by 
the  Commissioner  of  Accounts  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

The  Labor  Law  contains  special  provisions  for  the  inspection  of 
bakeries.  Local  Health  Departments  are  also  authorized  to  in- 
vestigate and  cause  the  removal  of  insanitary  conditions  in 
bakeries,  but  there  is  little  or  no  co-operation  between  the  local 
and  State  departments.  Dr.  Lederle,  the  Commissioner  of  Health 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  testified : 

"  The  trouble  about  this  bakery  situation,  as  I  understand 
it,  is  that  there  is  a  duplication  of  authority  which  may  or 
may  not  be  exercised  by  both  departments.  Primarily 
bakeries  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  State  Labor 
Department." 


KEPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  Y9 

The  State  Labor  Department  makes  inspections  of  bakeries 
about  once  a  year.  The  criticism  as  to  the  inadequacy  of  factory 
inspection  in  general  applies  with  still  greater  force  to  bakeries, 
and  in  fact  to  all  places  where  food  products  are  manufactured. 

To  insure  the  maintenance  of  proper  sanitary  conditions  in  such 
establishments,  frequent  inspection  is  essential.  The  number  of 
inspections  should  depend  upon  the  location  and  general  condition 
of  the  establishment,  but  in  any  event  every  bakery  should  be 
inspected  at  least  once  a  month.  The  Commissioner  of  Labor 
should  exercise  promptly  the  power  conferred  upon  him  by  the 
Labor  Law  to  seal  up  a  bakery  found  to  be  so  unclean,  improperly 
drained  or  ventilated  as  to  be  insanitary. 

LICENSING  OF  BAKERIES. 

The  principle  of  State  or  municipal  licensing  has  already  been 
applied  to  industries  which  are  dangerous  to  life  because 
of  the  materials  and  processes,  such  as  the  manufacture  of  fire- 
works, or  those  which  may  become  a  nuisance,  such  as  offensive 
trades,  stables,  etc.,  or  others  which  bear  an  intimate  relation  to  the 
public  health,  such  as  plumbing,  dairy  industries  and  slaughter- 
houses. 

No  industry  is  more  closely  related  to  the  public  health  than 
bread-making.  Not  one  of  those  who  appeared  before  the  Com- 
mission, including  bakers,  objected  to  the  licensing  of  bakeries. 
Many  testified  that  it  would  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  industry. 
The  licensing  of  bakeries  would  permit  of  accurate,  periodical 
inspection,  and  would  be  the  first  step  in  remedial  legislation. 

There  has  been  some  discussion  as  to  what  Department  should 
be  given  jurisdiction  of  licensing  bakeries,  and  after  considerable 
thought  the  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  best  interests 
of  all  would  be  conserved  by  placing  this  power  with  the  State 
Labor  Department,  with  the  provision,  however,  that  a  certificate 
as  to  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  bakery  should  be  obtained  from 
the  local  Health  Department  before  the  State  Department  shall 
issue  a  license.  This  method  will  necessitate  supervision  by  both 
Departments. 


80  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

CELLAR  BAKERIES. 

Most  city  bakeries  have  been  located  in  cellars.  This  condition 
prevails  in  Berlin,  Paris,  Chicago,  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburgh,  and 
prevailed  in  London  up  to  five  or  six  years  ago,  when  the  future 
use  of  cellars  as  bakeries  was  prohibited.  Elsewhere  in  England 
new  bakeries  have  been  forbidden  to  locate  in  cellars  since  1895. 
In  the  city  of  New  York  there  are  2,489  bakeries,  and  according 
to  the  report  of  Commissioner  of  Accounts  Fosdick  and  his  testi- 
mony before  the  Commission,  the  great  majority  of  these  are 
located  in  cellars  and  basements.  Of  the  485  bakeries  inspected 
and  investigated  by  this  Commission,  479  were  located  in  cellars  of 
tenement  houses.  The  ceilings  of  cellars  are  rarely  more  than  a 
foot  or  two  above  the  ground.  This  condition  results  in  defective 
drainage,  inadequate  light,  poor  ventilation,  excessive  humidity, 
proximity  of  plumbing,  lack  of  washing  facilities,  lack  of  toilet 
accommodation,  uncleanlines-s  of  workmen  and  utensils  and  the 
presence  of  domestic  animals,  vermin  and  insects.  Testimony 
was  given  showing  that  frequently  sewage  pipes  and  water  pipes 
leaked  or  sweated  directly  upon  material  of  which  bread  was  made ; 
that  animals,  such  as  chickens  and  dogs,  were  running  loose  in 
bakeries,  and  that  employees  sometimes  slept  there. 

Further  and  more  detailed  description  of  conditions  in  these 
establishments  will  be  found  in  the  testimony  given  by  Miss 
Perkins,  Commissioner  Fosdick,  Dr.  Bensel  and  Dr.  Lederle. 

It  is  evident  that  a  cellar  is  an  unfit  place  for  the  manufacture 
of  foodstuffs  or  for  the  housing  of  workers.  No  place  can  be  sani- 
tary which  lacks  sunlight.  Ventilation  is  almost  impossible  unless 
mechanical  ventilation  be  used,  which,  in  the  ordinary  small  bakery, 
is  not  practicable. 

Cellars  can  not  be  kept  as  clean  as  other  parts  of  the  house, 
because  they  are,  as  a  rule,  semi-dark.  They  contain  most  of  the 
plumbing  pipes  and  fixtures,  and  they  are  naturally  the  habitation 
of  insects,  rats  and  mice,  and  are  in  proximity  to  breeding  places  of 
flies. 

The  Commission  has  very  seriously  discussed  the  question  as  to 
whether  all  existing  cellar  bakeries  should  'be  abolished,  or 
whether  only  new  cellar  bakeries  should  ;be  prohibited.  The 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  81 

Commission  took  into  consideration  the  fact  that  if  the  existing 
cellar  bakeries  were  abolished  a  great  many  persons  would  suffer 
hardship. 

The  Commission,  therefore,  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  use  of  cel- 
lars for  bakeries  and  for  the  manufacture  of  other  food  products 
should  not  be  permitted  in  the  future  either  in  Xew  York  city  or 
in  any  other  city  of  the  State. 

MEDICAL  EXAMINATION  OF  BAKERS. 

The  Commission  conducted  the  first  medical  examination  of 
bakers  ever  made  in  the  city  of  Xew  York.  Six  physicians  made 
the  examination  under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Price,  at  the  same  time 
that  inspections  were  made  of  the  bake-shops.  The  greater  num- 
ber of  the  examinations  were  made  at  night.  Most  of  the  bakers 
are  men;  few  women  are  engaged  in  this  occupation,  and  very  few 
are  young  persons.  The  temperature  in  bakeries  is  high,  wages 
are  not  large,  hours  of  labor  are  unusually  long,  and  there  is  much 
night  work. 

Of  the  800  bakers  examined,  453,  or  57  per  cent,  had  some 
indication  of  a  defective  physical  condition.  The  most  important 
diseases  discovered  were  pulmonary  tuberculosis  and  bronchitis, 
177  cases;  pleurisy,  2  cases;  venereal  diseases,  3  cases;  diseases  of 
the  skin,  45  cases.  A  detailed  account  of  the  result  of  this  medical 
examination  will  be  found  in  the  report  of  Dr.  Price  in  Appen- 
dix III. 

RECOMMENDATIONS  : 

The  Commission  makes  the  following  recommendations  with 
reference  to  bakeries: 

Licensing. —  Every  factory  or  manufacturing  establish- 
ment where  food  products  are  prepared  for  public  consump- 
tion (except  hotels,  restaurants  and  boarding  houses),  shall 
be  required  to  apply  for  a  license  from  the  State  Labor 
Department ;  the  license  to  be  granted  after  inspection ;  fco 
be  renewed  annually;  to  be  revocable  for  cause;  and  to  be 
granted  only  on  the  certification  of  the  local  Health  Depart- 
ment that  the  premises  are  in  a  sanitary  condition. 

The  Power  of  the  Board  of  Health  or  Commissioner  of 
Public  Safety  to  make  Rules  and  Regulations  Prescrib- 


82  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

ing  Standards  of  Sanitation  for  Places  Where  Food  Prod- 
ucts are  Manufactured. —  The  Department  of  Health  or 
Commissioner  of  Public  Safety  shall  have  the  power  to 
establish  from  time  to  time  standards  of  sanitation  for  exist- 
ing and  future  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments 
where  food  products  of  any  kind  are  manufactured  for 
public  consumption  (except  restaurants,  hotels  and  boarding 
houses)  ;  provision  should  be  made  for  the  public  hearing 
of  such  proposed  rules  and  regulations  before  they  are 
adopted  and  their  publication  after  adoption.  No  change 
in  any  such  rules  and  regulations  shall  be  made  except  after  a 
public  hearing  on  30  days'  public  notice. 

Prohibition  of  Future  Bakeries  and  Places  Where  Food 
Products  are  Manufactured  for  Public  Consumption  from 
Locating  in  Cellars — On  and  after  the  date  hereof,  no  new 
bakery  or  other  establishment  where  food  products  are  man- 
ufactured or  prepared  for  public  consumption  (except  res- 
taurants, hotels  or  boarding  houses)  shall  be  permitted  in  a 
cellar.  The  term  cellar  within  the  meaning  of  this  a-.-t  is 
hereby  defined  as  follows:  Any  room  in  which  the  distance 
between  the  floor  and  the  ceiling  4s  more  than  one-half  below 
the  level  of  street  or  ground  adjacent  thereto. 

The  Commission  has  considered  the  question  of  medical 
inspection  of  bakers,  but  in  this  preliminary  report  does 
not  believe  that  it  should  make  any  recommendation  upon 
the  subject.  It  will  again  consider  the  matter,  and  hopes  to 
be  able  in  its  final  report  to  make  recommendations  with 
reference  thereto. 

Proposed  laws  carrying  out  these  recommendations  will  be  here- 
after submitted. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  83 

MANUFACTURING  IN  TENEMENTS 

PRESENT  LEGAL  STATUS  OF  MANUFACTURING  IN  TENEMENTS. 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  in  the  cities  of  the  State 
presents  a  problem  the  importance  of  which  can  hardly  be  over- 
estimated. The  problem  is  now  practically  limited  to  the  Greater 
City  of  .New  York,  the  Commission,  in  its  preliminary  investiga- 
tion having  found  little  manufacturing  carried  on  in  tenement 
houses  in  other  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class.  Though  this 
finding  is  supported  by  the  records  of  the  State  Labor  Department, 
such  work  is  said  to  be  increasing  in  all  up-State  cities. 

The  subject  of  tenement-house  manufacture  has  been  considered 
by  the  Legislature  on  several  occasions.  In  188-i  the  Legislature 
passed  an  act  prohibiting  the  manufacture  of  cigars  and  cigarettes 
in  tenement  houses  in  cities  having  over  500,000  inhabitants. 
This  act  was  declared  unconstitutional  by  our  Court  of  Appeals 
in  the  case  of  In  re  Jacobs  (reported  in  98  New  York,  page  98). 
This  decision,  which  has  been  construed  in  different  ways,  need 
not  now  be  discussed. 

From  1885,  when  the  Jacobs  case  was  decided,  down  to  1892, 
practically  nothing  was  done  to  regulate  or  control  manufacturing 
in  tenement  houses,  and  then  the  conditions  under  which  this  man- 
ufacturing was  conducted  made  some  action  imperative.  In  1892 
an  act  was  passed  providing  in  substance  that  only  immediate  mem- 
bers of  the  family  might  be  employed  in  dwelling  rooms  where 
articles  of  a  specified  kind  were  manufactured,  and  that  no  out- 
sider was  to  be  employed  in  such  workroom  unless  a  permit  were 
obtained  from  the  factory  inspector  setting  forth  the  maximum 
number  to  be  so  employed.  This  permit  was  granted  after  inspec- 
tion, and  was  revocable  if  required  by  "  the  health  of  the  commu- 
nity or  of  those  employed  therein." 

Since  then  the  Legislature  has  attempted  to  strengthen  this 
Act,  and  to  regulate  rather  than  prohibit  manufacturing  in  tene- 
ment houses.  The  inadequacy  of  the  law,  however,  soon  became 
apparent,  and  in  1899  an  act  was  passed  requiring  a  license  for 
each  family  workroom,  to  be  granted  under  the  following 
conditions : 


84  REPOET  OF  COMMISSION. 

1.  The  premises  must  be  in  a  sanitary  condition. 

2.  They  must  be  free  from  any  contagious,  infectious  or  com- 
municable disease. 

3.  There  must  be  500  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person. 

The  license  was  revocable  if  any  of  these  conditions  were  vio- 
lated. This  system  of  licensing  continued  in  operation  until  1904, 
when  the  licensing  of  individual  workrooms  was  succeeded  by 
the  requirement  that  the  tenement  house  itself  be  licensed,  the 
landlord  instead  of  the  worker  making  the  application.  This  was 
to  do  away  with  the  renewals  of  licenses  necessitated  by  the  fre- 
quent moving  of  the  worker  from  one  house  to  another. 

The  present  law  relating  to  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses 
is  contained  in  sections  100-105  inclusive,  of  the  Labor  Law. 
In  substance  the  law  provides  that  a  license  shall  be  required  for 
the  manufacture,  alteration  or  preparation  in  tenement  workrooms 
of  any  of  the  forty-one  articles  specified  in  the  act,  and  that  licenses 
are  not  to  be  granted  until  the  records  of  the  Board  of  Health 
or  other  appropriate  local  authority  shall  agree  with  the  result  of 
an  inspection  by  the  Labor  Department  in  showing  the  tenement 
house  to  be  free  from  infectious,  contagious  or  communicable 
disease,  and  from  any  defect  in  sanitation.  There  must  be  at  least 
500  cubic  feet  of  air  space  for  each  worker,  and  only  members 
of  the  family  may  be  employed,  save  in  the  case  of  dressmaking 
establishments  conducted  on  the  ground  or  first  floor.  These 
licensed  tenements  are  to  be  inspected  at  least  once  in  every  six 
months  and  licenses  may  be  revoked  if  the  inspection  discloses 
conditions  deemed  unhealthful.  The  manufacturer  must  keep 
ready  for  inspection  a  list  of  the  names  and  addresses  of  all  his 
home  workers,  and  is  not  permitted  to  send  for  manufacture,  arti- 
cles specified  in  the  act,  into  an  unlicensed  house,  or  to  any  work- 
room in  which  there  exists  any  infectious,  contagious  or  commu- 
nicable disease.  The  owner  of  the  tenement  house  is  held  responsi- 
ble for  the  manufacture  of  any  articles  mentioned  in  the  act  con- 
trary to  its  provisions.  The  violation  of  tihe  law  by  the  tenement- 
hoitse  worker  is  sufficient  ground  for  the  institution  of  disposses 
proceeding's  against  him. 


KEPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  85 

JURISDICTION    OVER   MANUFACTURING    IN    TENEMENT   HOUSES. 

Jurisdiction  over  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  in  the  city 
of  New  York  is  exercised  by  three  departments;  the  State  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  the  Department  of  Health,  and  to  some  extent  the 
Tenement  House  Department. 

The  State  Department  of  Labor  has  general  jurisdiction  over 
the  issuance  of  licenses  as  to  the  forty-one  articles  specified  in  the 
act,  and  is  responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  proper  sanitary  con- 
ditions in  such  licensed  houses. 

The  Tenement  House  Department  has  jurisdiction  over  the 
sanitary  conditions  in  tenement  houses.  It  exercises  such  juris- 
diction over  the  tenement-house  workroom  only  in  so  far  as  such 
rooms  are  used  for  living  purposes.  It  has  no  jurisdiction  over 
conditions  produced  by  the  manufacturing  conducted  in  them. 

The  Board  of  Health  has  jurisdiction  over  all  infectious,  con- 
tagious and  communicable  diseases  in  the  tenement  houses.  It 
also  possesses  general  jurisdiction  over  the  sanitary  conditions  in 
tenement  houses.  This  jurisdiction  is  rarely,  if  ever,  exercised, 
the  Board  of  Health  acting  only  on  complaint,  and  in  nearly  every 
case  referring  complaints  to  the  Tenement  House  Department. 

So  far  as  manufacturing  in  the  tenement  houses  is  concerned, 
while  other  departments  may  have  concurrent  jurisdiction,  the 
State  Labor  Department  alone  is  responsible  for  sanitary  condi- 
tions and  for  the  enforcement  of  the  law  regulating  such 
manufacturing. 

PRELIMINARY  INVESTIGATION  BY  THE  COMMISSION. 

The  Commission  in  its  investigations  has  not  been  able  to  ob- 
tain more  than  a  general  survey  of  present  conditions,  and  to  pre- 
pare a  plan  for  a  further  investigation.  Various  witnesses  testified 
to  the  conditions  under  which  manufacturing  is  carried  on  to-day 
in  tenement  homes,  and  a  special  investigation  was  made  for  the 
Commission  by  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee  under  the 
immediate  supervision  of  Mr.  Owen  R.  Lovejoy  and  Miss  Elizabeth 
C.  Watson.  Assistance  was  also  rendered  by  some  members  of 
the  Women's  Welfare  Department  of  the  National  Civic  Federa- 
tion who  investigated  tenement  house  manufacture  in  one  East 
Side  block. 


86  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

THE  LICENSING  SYSTEM  AND  ITS  ENFORCEMENT. 

In  1904  there  were  2,604  tenement  houses  in  the  city  of  New 
York  licensed  for  manufacturing.  In  November,  1911,  there  v/ere 
13,268  licensed  tenements  in  that  city,  and  451  in  the  remainder 
of  the  State. 

In  considering  the  number  of  tenement  houses  in  which  manu- 
facturing is  actually  carried  on  in  the  city  of  New  York  the  fol- 
lowing facts  should  be  borne  in  mind: 

1.  Each   of  the   13,268   licensed  tenements  contains  anywhere 
from  three  to  forty  or  fifty  different  apartments  in  which  manu- 
facturing may  be  carried  on. 

2.  The  13,268  licensed  tenements  represent  those  only  in  which 
the  manufacture  or  preparation  of  the  forty-one  articles  specified 
in  section  100  of  the  Labor  Law  is  carried  on.     Testimony  showed 
that  at  least  one  hundred  different  articles  are  in  process  of  manu- 
facture in  tenement  houses  in  the  city  of  New  York.     The  prep- 
aration or  manufacture  of  almost  sixty  articles  requires  no  license 
and  may,  therefore,  be  carried  on  practically  without  any  super- 
vision save   that  incidentally   exercised  by   the  Tenement  House 
Department  and  the  Board  of  Health. 

Tlje  investigation  showed  that  the  provisions  of  the  law  requir- 
ing a  license  for  the  manufacturing  of  the  articles  specified  are 
violated  in  many  cases.  Accurate  lists  of  home  workers  are  not. 
kept  by  the  manufacturers  as  the  law  requires. 

The  manufacture  of  brushes,  for  example,  requires  a  license. 
Of  124  families  given  by  brush  manufacturers  as  out-workers,  10 
families  were  found  to  live  in  licensed  houses,  114  families  in 
unlicensed  houses. 

Nut  picking  requires  a  license.  Among  the  out-workers  investi- 
gated, 22  families  were  found  living  in  licensed  houses,  19  fami- 
lies in  unlicensed  houses. 

Under  the  present  system,  with  the  force  at  the  disposal  of  the 
State  Department  of  Labor  for  this  purpose,  the  enforcement  of 
the  law  relating  to  home  work  is  a  hopeless  task.  Increase  in  the 
foumber  of  inspectors  will  help  but  little. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  87 

EVILS  OF  HOME  WORK. 

1.  SPREADING  OF  DISEASE — Manufacturing  in  tenement  homes 
is  often  conducted  under  very  insanitary  conditions.  The  photo- 
graphs reproduced  in  Appendix  7  are  illustrative  of  the  filth  and 
personal  unclean liriess  which  exist  sometimes  in  the  preparation 
of  food  products.  Manufacturing  and  preparation  of  various  arti- 
cles of  wearing  apparel  and  food  products  are  in  many  cases  car- 
ried on  by  diseased  workers.  The  danger  from  this  source,  par- 
ticularly in  the  case  of  food  products  prepared  in  the  tenement 
homes  and  distributed  widely  for  consumption  requires  no  emphasis. 
Cases  of  work  done  in  tenement  homes  by  children  suffering  from 
contagious  scalp  and  skin  diseases,  chicken-pox  and  tonsilitis  are 
numerous. 

Miss  Watson  of  the  Child  Labor  Committee  testified  to  the  fol- 
lowing case  of  a  child  suffering  from  scarlet  fever  engaged  in 
home  work: 

"  I  have  seen  a  girl  in  the  desquamating  stage  of  scarlet 
fever  (when  her  throat  was  so  bad  that  she  could  not  speak 
above  a  whisper)  tying  ostrich  feathers  in  the  Italian  dis- 
trict. These  feathers  were  being  made  for  one  of  the  biggest 
feather  factories  in  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  She  told  me 
herself  she  had  been  sick  with  scarlet  fever  for  ten  days, 
but  had  been  upstairs  in  a  neighbor's  room  working  for  over 
a  week.  The  condition  of  the  skin  on  her  hands  was  such 
as  to  attract  my  attention  and  be  recognized  at  once  as  scarlet 
fever,  although  she  further  authenticated  it  by  telling  me 
the  doctor  stated  she  had  scarlet  fever." 

Unfortunately  the  law  does  not  adequately  guard  against  this, 
presumably  because  the  diseases  are  not  reported  to  the  Board  of 
Health  or  to  the  Labor  Department  as  promptly  as  they  should  be, 
and  in  some  cases  are  not  reported  at  all. 

Men,  women  and  children  suffering  with  tuberculosis  and  at- 
tending tuberculosis  clinics  were  found  picking  nuts  and  working 
on  feathers  and  dolls'  clothes.  In  one  family  three  members  were 
attending  the  dispensary  for  treatment,  all  suffering  from  tuber- 
culosis. All  were  working  at  picking  nuts.  In  another  case,  a 
child  eight  years  of  age,  sent  home  from  school  because  of  active 
tuberculosis,  was  later  found  working  at  willow  plumes  in  a  room 
lighted  by  gas  in  the  daytime. 


88  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

2.  EMPLOYMENT  OF  YOUNG  CHILDREN. — The  employment  of 
young  children  in  such  manufacturing  constitutes  a  most  serious 
menace  to  the  entire  community.  Articles  given  out  by  a  manu- 
facturer or  contractor  are  either  completely  or  partially  manufac- 
tured in  the  dwelling  rooms,  and  in  that  manufacture  the  labor  of 
children  of  any  age  may  be  and  is  utilized.  This  situation  pre- 
sents a  child  labor  problem  far-reaching  in  its  importance,  which 
as  yet  has  received  no  legislative  recognition. 

While  the  laws  of  this  State  prohibit,  for  example,  a  manu- 
facturer of  willow  plumes  from  employing  in  his  factory  children 
less  than  fourteen  and  in  some  cases,  sixteen  years  of  age,  there 
is  nothing  in  the  law  to  prevent  the  manufacturer  from  sending 
his  willow  plumes  to  some  family  living  in  a  tenement  house  in 
the  same  city,  to  be  made  up  by  the  adult  members  of  the  family 
and  by  children  anywhere  from  three  to  fourteen  years  of  age. 
This  is  being  done,  and  such  facts  were  presented  to  the 
Commission. 

The  numbers  and  ages  of  the  children,  some  of  them  incredibly 
young,  found  picking  nuts,  making  brushes,  and  dolls'  clothes, 
together  with  photographs  taken  by  the  Consumers'  League  and 
the  National  Child  Labor  Comimttee,  are  set  forth  in  Appendix  7. 

In  the  report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  for  the  year  1911, 
which  has  just  been  issued,  the  Commissioner  says: 

"  It  is  said  that  the  evils  of  child  labor  prevail  in  connec- 
tion with  tenement  house  manufacture  to  an  alarming  de- 
gree. The  number  of  children  of  school  age  found  at  work 
in  their  homes  during  school  hours  by  our  inspectors  wa.s 
quite  small,  but  this  fact  should  not  be  regarded  as  proof 
that  the  alleged  growth  of  child  labor  in  tenements  is  un- 
founded. It  is  probably  quite  true  that  many  small  children 
under  school  age  are  required  or  permitted  to  perform  cer- 
tain simple  and  easy  tasks  in  connection  with  the  various 
processes  and  operations  incident  to  the  work  done  in  these 
homes.  The  work  done  by  such  small  children  cannot  be  very 
difficult  nor  can  it  be  very  heavy,  but  if  the  little  ones  are 
compelled  to  remain  at  work  for  long  periods  of  time,  an 
intolerable  condition  is  brought  about,  and  no  effort  should 
be  spared  to  relieve  their  sufferings.  As  to  the  children  of 
school  age,  it  would  be  well  if  they  were  not  permitted  to 
engage  in  any  manufacturing  pursuit  in  their  homes  until 


KEPOET  OF  COMMISSION.  89 

they  had  reached  twelve  years  of  age.  But  in  dealing  with 
this  phase  of  the  subject,  great  care  should  be  exercised  so  as 
not  to  foster  wilfulness  and  disobedience  to  parents.  The  sacred 
right  of  parents  to  order  the  conduct  of  their  offspring  and 
to  teach  them  habits  of  industry  and  thrift  should  not  be 
lightly  invaded.  Indeed,  it  should  not  be  thought  of  except 
where  the  welfare  of  society  demands  that  such  a  course  be 
pursued.  No  legislation  based  upon  any  theory  of  regulation 
or  prohibition,  however  plausible,  should  be  enacted  until 
the  subject  has  been  very  carefully  considered  and  the  true 
state  of  facts  ascertained." 

This  Commission  agrees  that  no  legislation  should  be  enacted 
until  the  subject  has  been  very  carefully  considered  and  the  true 
state  of  facts  ascertained.  The  Commission  does  not  believe  that 
the  sacred  right  of  parents  to  order  the  conduct  of  their  offspring 
is  such  that  it  permits  them  to  require  of  their  very  young  children 
incessant  toil  for  long  hours  to  the  injury  of  their  health 
ami  the  prevention  of  their  receiving  sufficient  education.  Par- 
ents must  support  the  child  until  it  has  strength  and  health  enough 
to  work  for  itself.  The  Legislature  has  said  that  no  child  may 
work  before  it  is  at.  least  fourteen  years  of  age  outside  of  the  home. 
It  is  essential,  therefore,  that  the  home  should  not  be  utilized  as 
an  annex  of  the  factory,  and  that  the  manufacturer  should  be  pro- 
hibited from  using  the  tenement  home  for  that  purpose. 

3.  EFFECT  ox  SCHOOL  ATTENDANCE. — A  study  made  in  one 
-t ction  of  the  city  of  Xew  York  of  the  average  school  attendance 
of  a  hundred  children  doing  home  work,  disclosed  an  absence  of 
twenty-nine  and  a  half  days  per  child  out  of  an  eighty-nine  days' 
term.  Children  four  years  of  age  and  upwards  were  found  work- 
ing after  school  hours,  during  meal  hours  and  on  Saturdays.  The 
school  work  suffers  and  is  neglected,  and  the  education  of  the  child 
seriously  interfered  with.  In  one  case,  a  child  eight  years  of  age 
was  reported  for  the  defective  class  because  she  slept  in  the  class- 
room in  the  morning.  Investigation  showed  that  the  child  was 
obliged  to  sew  buttons  on  knee  pants,  and  had  to  do  a  certain 
amount  of  work  at  home,  irrespective  of  the  time  it  took,  so  that 
every  morning  the  child  came  to  school  in  an  exhausted  condition. 


90  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

"There  was  nothing  wrong  with  the  child;  she  was  not  defective, 
simply  tired." 

Incidents  were  related  of  children  from  7  to  14  years  of  age, 
some  born  in  this  country,  others  here  for  several  years,  who  worked 
at  home  and  had  never  attended  school.  In  some  cases  their  very 
existence  was  unknown  to  the  rest  of  the  children  in  the  house, 
because  they  never  came  out  to  play. 

4.  Low  WAGES  OF  THE  HOME  WORKER. — The  tenement  in- 
dustry is  without  standards  of  any  kind,  and  is  essentially  parasitic 
in   its  nature.      The   wage   received   represents  the   total  earning 
of  the   family   group,   the   mother  (in  some  cases,  the  father,  also) 
and  the  children.     In  nut  picking,  for  example,  the  average  day's 
work  will  net  about  forty  cents  for  the  family,  which  means  at 
least  five  hours  work  a  day  for  from  five  to  six  people.     The 
highest  wage  was  $12.00  a  week  for  operating  on  dolls'  clothes 
earned  by  the  combined  labors  of  the  father,  mother  and  three  chil- 
dren from  eight  to  twelve  years  of  age,  the  children  working  after 
school  hours  and  on  Saturday. 

The  competition  between  the  home  workers  themselves  and  be- 
tween the  home  workers  and  factory  hands  reduces  wages  to  a 
minimum.  In  some  industries  when  work  in  the  factory  is  slack, 
employees  are  laid  off  and  put  on  part  time,  yet  large  amounts 
of  work  are  given  out  to  the  home  workers.  In  the  manufacture 
of  brushes,  practically  the  entire  article  is  made  up  in  the  home, 
only  a  small  group  of  workers  being  employed  in  the  factory  to 
put  the  materials  in  shape  for  the  jobber. 

5.  COST  OF  HOME  WORK  TO  THE  COMMUNITY. — By  home  work 
or  tenement  work  is  meant  any  kind  of  manufacturing  done  for 
a  manufacturer,  contractor  or  agent  by  persons  not  working  on 
the  premises  or  under  supervision,  the  wages  and  rates  of  payment 
for  these  workers  being  fixed  by  the  persons  giving  out  the  work. 
In  its  essence  home  work  as  thus  defined  is  beyond  control  by  law. 
In  this  State  we  have  a  Labor  Code,  certain  sections  of  which 
expressly  regulate  conditions  under  which  manufacturing  may  be 
carried  on,  but  by  giving  out  home  work  a  manufacturer  is  actu- 
ally able  to  evade  his  responsibility  for  complying  with  any  of 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  91 

these  provisions.  His  work  may  be  done  in  unclean,  unsanitary 
surroundings.  It  may  be  performed  by  little  children  or  minors 
working  long  hours  after  5  p.  M.  when  the  law  frees  the  girl  and 
boy  workers  in  the  factories,  or  by  young  girls  working  far  into 
the  night.  Home  work  means  unregulated  manufacturing  carried 
on  beyond  the  possibility  of  control  as  to  hours  of  women's  work, 
child  labor,  night  work  of  minors  or  cleanliness  and  sanitation  of 
work  places.  From  the  point  of  view  of  the  community,  the 
greatest  objection  to  home  work  is  its  essential  lawlessness. 

The  cost  to  the  community  under  the  present  system,  in  life  and 
health  of  the  little  army  of  young  children  and  mothers  employed 
in  this  branch  of  industry,  is  entirely  too  great  to  justify  its  ex- 
istence. In  1888  a  special  committee  was  appointed  by  the  House 
of  Lords  to  inquire  into  the  sweating  system  at  the  East  End  of 
London.  The  disclosure  of  the  Lord's  Committee  on  the  sweating 
system  showed,  among  other  things,  that  so  far  from  being  socially 
economic  or  useful,  eiaoh  industry  carried  on  in  the  workers'  mis- 
erable homes  was  really  dragging  back  that  industry  as  a  whole. 
It  was  competing  unfairly  with  those  carrying  on  business  under 
the  factory  law.  We  have  failed  to  profit  in  any  way  by  England's 
experience. 

NECESSITY  FOR  EXTENSIVE  INVESTIGATION. 

The  many  witnesses  who  have  appeared  have  urged  the  restric- 
tion of  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses,  or  its  complete  prohibi- 
tion. At  the  same  time,  as  preliminary  to  any  legislation  on  the 
subject,  they  without  exception  urged  and  set  forth  the  necessity 
for  a  thorough  and  painstaking  investigation  so  that  all  of  the  facts 
could  be  gathered. 

The  difficulties  of  comprehensive  remedial  legislation  on  this 
subject,  practical  and  legal,  are  very  great.  The  Commission  has 
found  that  a  great  deal  of  home  work  is  due  to  the  pressure  of 
poverty,  to  the  fact  that  the  family  budget  is  small,  not  because 
the  father  is  lazy,  but  because  his  whole  wage  is  not  sufficient  to 
carry  him  through  the  dull  season  of  his  industry.  The  consti- 
tutional difficulties  are  grave.  The  decision  in  the  Jacobs  case, 
.although  it  may  perhaps  be  explained  away  or  its  effect  overcome, 
shows  the  necessity  for  a  complete  and  thorough  investigation  and 


92  REPORT  or  COMMISSION. 

presentation  of  the  facts  before  any  radical  legislation  is  attempted. 
The  Commission  has  set  forth  particularly  the  results  of  its  in- 
vestigation in  order  to  show  the  pressing  necessity  for  a  continu- 
ance of  the  investigation  of  this  important  subject, —  a  necessity 
that  is  felt  by  all  who  have  appeared  before  the  Commission. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  93 

EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  IN  MANUFACTURING 
ESTABLISHMENTS 

NUMBER  AND  IMPORTANCE  OF  W<»n:x  WORKERS  IN  THE  STATE. 

The  preliminary  report  of  the  United  States  Census  for  1910 
showed  that  there  were  293,637  women  employed  in  manufac- 
turing establishments  in  the  State  of  NeAV  York,  30  per  cent 
of  all  its  wage  earners.  The  Oeimi.s  Report  for  1905  showed  the 
average  earnings  of  women  in  all  industries  in  this  State  was 
$6.54  per  week.  The  only  industries  (except  some  minor  indus- 
tries employing  less  than  1,000  workers)  in  which  women  are 
not  employed,  are  in  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  tiles,  fertilizers 
and  ice.  The  average  time  a  woman  remains  in  a  factory  is  about 
seven  years,  the  majority  of  women  leaving  after  a  few  years 
to  marry.  The  State  is  therefore  interested  not  only  in  the  wel- 
fare of  women  as  workers,  but  has  a  deeper  concern  in  seeing 
that  while  adding  economic  wealth  to  the  State  they  work  under 
such  proper  conditions  as  will  not  impair  their  health  and  vitality 
as  mothers. 

In  its  investigation,  the  Commission  has  made  a  study  of  con- 
ditions in  six  of  the  trades  in  which  over  60  per  cent  of  the  em- 
ployees are  women,  namely,  artificial  feathers  and  flowers,  waists, 
paper  boxes,  textiles  and  men's  clothing.  Nine  hundred  and  eleven 
different  workshops  employing  20,359  women  were  inspected.  The 
results  of  this  investigation  are  fully  set  forth  in  Appendix  IV 
hereto  annexed.  In  addition,  the  investigation's  conducted  for  .the 
Commission  by  Miss  Goldmark  cover  industries  in  which  over 
2,000  women  were  employed. 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  WORK  DONE  BY  WOMEN. 

A  great  deal  of  hard  and  physically  exhausting  work  is  still 
done  by  women  employed  in  factories.  Reference  is  hereafter 
made  to  women  working  in  the  core  rooms  of  foundries.  In  a 
meat  packing  plant  in  Buffalo  a  number  of  women  were  em- 
ployed in  the  trimming  and  sausage  rooms,  working  side  by  side 
with  men  who  set  the  pace  for  the  work.  The  women  stood  all 


94  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

day  at  their  work  on  floors  covered  with  water  and  slime,  most  of 
them  wearing  heavy  rubber  boots.  Women  were  found  employed 
in  industries  where  industrial  poisons  were  used  or  generated 
in  the  process  of  manufacture.  The  entire  subject  of  the  pro- 
hibition, or  at  any  rate,  the  close  supervision  of  the  employment  of 
women  in  dangerous  trades  and  occupations,  or  in  those  involving 
hard  manual  labor,  requires  most  careful  consideration. 

The  continual  standing  of  women  in  factories  and  manufac- 
turing establishments  is  one  of  the  worst  and  most  dangerous 
features  of  a  large  part  of  their  work.  Women  are  required  to 
stand  in  candy  factories,  laundries,  textile  mills  and  printing 
shops  for  hours  at  a  time,  often  for  the  entire  day. 

The  effects  of  continual  standing  upon  women  are  very  gra\< . 
Dr.  George  W.  Goler,  the  health  officer  of  the  city  of  Rochester 
testified : 

"  I  think  that  if  we  could  make  a  study  of  the  varicose 
veins  upon  the  legs  and  feet  of  women  who  stand,  we  would 
be  perfectly  surprised  at  the  conditions  we  find.  I  have  pho- 
tographs of  the  feet  and  legs  of  women  who  stand,  and  the 
great  tortuous  varicose  veins  upon  those  legs  would  make  one 
expend  as  much  pity  on  those  women  as  upon  a  horse  that 
we  see  whipped  on  the  street.  You  know  we  expend  a  vast 
amount  of  pity  on  dumb  animals  that  are  treated  as  they 
ought  not  to  be ;  we  have  only  recently  waked  up  to  the  fact 
that  we  ought  to  expend  some  pity  and  sympathy  upon  OUT 
own  kind." 

Much  of  this  standing  is  quite  unnecessary.  Many  more  proc- 
esses could  easily  be  adapted  to  a  sitting  posture.  Sec.  17  of  the 
Labor  Law,  hidden  away  between  a  provision  relating  to  the  illegal 
use  of  labels  and  one  dealing  with  scaffolding  for  the  use  of  em- 
ployees, regulates  the  use  of  seats  for  women  in  factories,  and 
provides  as  follows: 

Sec.  17.  "  Every  person  employing  females  in  a  factory, 
or  as  waitresses  in  a  hotel  or  restaurant,  shall  provide  and 
maintain  suitable  seats  for  the  use  of  such  female  employees 
and  permit  the  use  thereof  by  such  employees  to  such  an 
extent  as  may  be  reasonable  for  the  preservation  of  their 
health." 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  95 

The  law  is  vague  and  indefinite,  and  in  actual  practice  is  very 
unsatisfactory.  In  a  great  many  of  the  establishments  no  seats 
whatsoever  are  provided.  Where  they  are  furnished,  the  work 
that  the  women  have  to  perform  does  not  permit  of  their  use. 

The  Commission  therefore  recommen'ds  the  amendment  of  sec. 
17  as  follows: 

"  Every  person  employing  females  in  a  factory  or  as  wait- 
resses in  a  hotel  or  restaurant  shall  provide  and  maintain 
suitable  seats  with  backs  at  an  angle  of  not  less  than  100  de- 
grees for  the  use  of  such  female  employees,  and  permit  the 
use  thereof  by  such  employees  to  such  an  extent  as  may  be 
reasonable  for  the  preservation  of  their  health.  Wherever 
practicable  and  where  processes  are  adapted  to  a  sitting 
posture,  suitable  seats  with  backs  at  an  angle  of  not  less  than 
100  degrees  shall  be  supplied  for  all  female  employees." 

HOURS  OF  LABOR. 

In  structure  and  in  function,  women  are  differentiated  from  men. 
A  woman's  body  is  unable  to  withstand  strain,  fatigue  and  priva- 
tions as  well  as  a  man's.  The  nervous  strain  resulting  from  monot- 
onous work  and  speeding  up,  intensified  by  the  piece-work  system, 
when  coupled  with  excessive  length  of  working  hours,  can  only 
result  in  undermining  the  whole  physical  structure  of  the  woman, 
lowering  her  vitality  and  rendering  her  easily  susceptible  to  the  dis- 
eases that  find  their  prey  among  factory  workers.  Newer  and 
faster  machines  are  being  continually  introduced.  In  the  knitting 
mills  of  TJtica,  some  of  the  machines  make  as  many  as  3,500 
stitches  a  minute.  In  the  paper-box  trade,  girls  fill  in  2,000  boxes 
a  day,  involving  over  4,000  heavy  pressures  with  the  foot.  The 
manufacturer's  desire  for  speed  takes  no  account  of  the  strain 
upon  the  woman  worker  caused  by  the  long  hours  and  monotonous 
and  nerve-racking  work  that  results  in  destroying  the  health  of 
the  women  and  rendering  them  unfit  to  perform  their  functions 
as  mothers. 

The  first  step,  therefore,  in  the  right  direction,  is  to  decrease 
the  length  of  the  working  day  for  women.  In  his  last  message  to 
the  Legislature,  Governor  Dix  recommended  the  reduction  of  the 
hours  of  labor  for  women.  The  necessity  for  a  shorter  working 


96  REPOET  OF  COMMISSION. 

day  for  the  women  factory  workers  has  been  upheld  by  all  of  the 
witnesses  called,  professional  and  laymen.  The  Commission  is 
not  prepared  to  maintain  that  at  the  outset  full  productivity  will 
be  as  great  in  nine  hours  a  day  as  in  ten,  but  as  has  been  admira- 
bly stated  by  Prof.  Irving  Fisher  in  his  report  on  National 
Vitality: 

"  The  point  to  be  insisted  upon  is  not  that  it  is  profitable 
for  an  employer  to  make  the  working-day  shorter,  for  often 
it  is  not,  but  to  show  that  it  is  profitable  for  the  nation  and 
race.  Continual  fatigue  is  inimical  to  national  vitality,  and 
however  it  may  affect  the  economic  profits  of  the  individual, 
it  will  in  the  end  deplete  the  vital  resources  on  which  national 
efficiency  depends." 

The  Legislature  has  already  given  indication  of  its  desire  to 
properly  regulate  the  hours  of  labor  for  its  women  workers.  The 
Labor  Law  provides  that  no  female  less  than  21  years  of  age,  and 
no  woman  shall  be  employed  or  permitted  to  work  in  any  factory 
before  6  A  M.  or  after  9  p.  M.  nor  for  more  than  6  days  or  60 
hours  in  any  one  week,  nor  for  more  than  10  hours  in  any  one 
day,  except  that  in  order  to  provide  for  either  a  Saturday  half 
holiday  or  whole  holiday,  the  60  hours  of  work  may  be  performed 
in  5  days.  It  also  provides  for  irregular  overtime  not  to  exceed 
3  days  a  week,  provided  that  no  work  is  performed  for  more  than 
12  hours  in  any  one  day  or  60  hours  a  week. 

The  Court  of  Appeals,  however,  in  the  case  of  People  v.  Wil- 
liams (reported  in  189  New  York,  page  131),  found  that  portion 
of  the  statute  unconstitutional  which  provided  for  a  closing  time 
and  which,  as  the  Court  stated,  prevented  a  woman,  however 
willing,  "  from  engaging  herself  in  a  lawful  employment  during 
the  specified  periods  of  the  24  hours."  Judge  GRAY,  writing  the 
opinion  says,  however: 

"  I  find  nothing  in  the  language  of  the  section  which  sug- 
gests the  purpose  of  promoting  health,  except  as  it  might  be 
inferred  that  for  a  woman  to  work  during  the  forbidden 
hours  of  night  would  be  unhealthful.  If  the  inhibition  of 
the  section  in  question  had  been  framed  to  prevent  the  ten 
hours  of  work  from  being  performed  at  night,  or  to  prolong 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  97 

them  beyond  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  it  might  more 
readily  be  appreciated  that  the  health  of  women  was  a 
matter  of  legislative  concern.  That  is  not  the  effect,  nor  the 
sense,  of  the  provision  of  the  section  with  which  alone  we 
are  dealing." 

OVERTIME. 

The  evil  effects  of  overtime  can  readily  be  appreciated  by  what 
has  already  been  said.  The  human  organism,  particularly  the 
organism  of  a  woman,  may  normally  be  taxed  to  a  certain  point. 
That  point  is  undoubtedly  reached  at  the  end  of  a  regular  day's 
work.  Beyond  that,  any  burden  can  result  only  in  fatigue,  over- 
exertion  and  consequent  impairment  of  health.  Alternating  pe^ 
riods  of  intense  overwork  and  then  of  idleness  constitute  a  menace 
to  the  physical  and  moral  life  of  women  workers. 

THE  DIFFICULTY  OF  ENFORCING  THE  LAW  RELATING  TO  WOME±S. 

The  present  60-hour  law  is  not  enforced  and  cannot  be  enforced 
because  of  the  complicated  and  indefinite  provisions  relating  to 
overtime,  and  the  absence  of  a  specified  closing  hour.  To  enact 
legislation  limiting  the  hours  of  work  without  including  a  provision 
for  a  closing  time  will  simply  add  another  unenforceable  provision 
to  the  laws  of  this  State.  The  Commission  believes  that  a  statute 
can  be  so  drawn,  and  such  facts  presented  to  the  Court  of  Appeals, 
as  to  provide  legally  that  no  woman  may  be  employed  in  a  factory 
building  after  a  certain  hour.  Such  provisions  are  contained  in 
the  laws  of  European  countries,  and  experience  shows  that  only 
in  that  way  can  any  provision  regulating  the  hours  of  employment 
be  enforced. 

LAWS  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES. 

In  European  countries,  the  subject  of  the  employment  of 
women  has  received  careful  consideration.  The  hours  of  labjr 
are  carefully  regulated,  and  the  closing  time  definitely  stated. 
The  laws  of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  France  and  Holland  relating 
to  the  employment  of  women  in  manufacturing  establishments 
are  typical. 

4 


98  REPOET  OF  COMMISSION. 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 

Hours  —  Textile  Factories  (Sec.  24,  Laws  of  1901,  1  Edv. 
VII,  Chap.  22). 

The  period  of  employment,  except  on  Saturday,  shall  either 
begin  at  6  A.  M.  and  end  at  6  P.  M.,  or  begin  at  7  A.  M.  and  end  at 
7  P.  M. 

There  shall  be  allowed  for  meals  during  said  period  of  employ- 
ment on  every  day  except  Saturday  not  less  than  two  hours,  of 
which  one  hour  at  the  least  shall  be  before  3  p.  M. 

Special  regulations  for  a  shorter  day  on  Saturday. 

FBANCE. 

The  maximum  length  of  the  working  day  shall  be  ten  hours, 
broken  by  at  least  one  hour  of  rest. 

Overtime  may  be  granted  by  departmental  decrees  for  two 
hours  in  one  day,  during  not  more  than  sixty  days  in  the  year, 
for  certain  trades,  chiefly  season  trades.  By  departmental  decrees, 
employment  of  women  may  be  prohibited  or  regulated  in  trade" 
considered  dangerous  to  health  or  morals. 

HOLLAND. 

By  royal  decree  employment  of  women  may  be  prohibited  or 
regulated  in  trades  held  dangerous  to  health. 

GERMANY. 

Working  women  may  not  be  employed  between  8  o'clock  in 
the  evening  to  6  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  on  Saturdays  and 
the  eve  of  holidays  not  after  5  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 

The  employment  of  working  women  may  not  exceed  the  dura- 
tion of  ten  hours  daily,  and  eight  hours  on  the  eve  of  Sundays 
and  holidays. 

Between  working  hours  at  least  one  hour  of  noon  rest  muot 
be  allowed  to  working  women. 

After  the  end  of  the  daily  working  time,  a  continuous  rest  of 
at  least  eleven  hours  must  be  allowed  to  working  women. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  99 

Working  women  who  have  to  attend  to  a  household  must,  at 
their  request,  be  dismissed  half  an  hour  before  the  noonday  rest, 
unless  this  lasts  at  least  one  hour  and  a  half. 

Overtime  may  be  granted  by  the  lower  administrative  authority 
for  not  more  than  twelve  hours  of  labor  in  one  day,  during  two 
weeks,  not  more  than  forty  days  in  the  year,  but  there  must  be 
an  unbroken  interval  of  ten  hours  between  one  day's  work  and 
the  next. 

For  a  period  exceeding  two  weeks,  the  same  permission  may 
be  granted  only  by  the  higher  administrative  authority,  but  not 
to  exceed  fifty  days  in  the  year. 

This  Commission  is  convinced  that  unless  there  is  in  the  law 
some  valid  provision  fixing  a  closing  time,  the  law  cannot  be 
properly  enforced.  The  difficulty  is  very  apparent.  The  worker 
through  fear  of  losing  her  employment,  will  rarely  complain.  It 
is  useless,  therefore,  to  look  to  her  for  active  assistance.  This 
principle  has  been  applied  successfully  in  this  State  in  the  case  of 
children  between  the  ages  of  14  and  16.  There  is  no  valid  reason 
why  the  same  principle  should  not  be  extended  to  the  women 
workers  in  the  factory  who  play  so  important  a  part  in  the  State's 
industrial  prosperity.  The  interests  of  the  State  imperatively 
demand  that  its  women  workers  be  effectively  protected. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  hours  of  labor  for 
women  should  be  shortened,  but  at  the  present  time  it  refrains 
from  making  any  specific  recommendation  upon  the  subject. 

THE  EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  BEFORE  AND  AFTER  CHILDBIRTH. 

The  Commission  heard  testimony  to  the  effect  that  women  are 
employed  in  manufacturing  establishments  of  the  State,  sometimes 
at  hard  manual  labor,  immediately  before  and  after  childbirth. 
That  this  condition  is  a  source  of  danger  not  only  to  the  women 
but  to  their  offspring  is  not  open  to  argument.  It  is  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  that  women  who  have  to  deny  themselves  rest 
and  care  during  the  last  few  weeks  of  pregnancy,  and  the  first 
few  weeks  after  confinement,  are  very  liable  to  suffer  from 
hemorrhage  and  chronic  uterine  diseases. 

Premature  births  are  not  infrequent  results  of  overwork.  The 
relation  of  infant  mortality  to  the  employment  of  women  immedi- 


100  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

ately  before  and  after  childbirth  illustrates  the  importance  of  this 
matter.  Investigation  by  Sir  John  Simon  and  his  colleagues  into 
sanitary  conditions  in  England  between  1859  and  1865,  showed 
that  in  proportion  as  adult  women  were  taking  part  in  factory 
lalbor,  the  mortality  of  their  infants  rapidly  increased.  Over  half  a 
century  has  elapsed  since  Sir  John  Simon  declared  that  infants 
perish  under  the  neglect  and  mismanagement  caused  by  their 
mother's  occupation,  yet  we  have  taken  no  steps  to  remedy  that 
evil  which  results  so  disastrously  to  the  State. 

In  European  countries  the  matter  is  covered  by  statute,  women 
being  prohibited  from  working  in  factories  within  a  certain  period 
before  and  after  they  give  birth  to  children.  The  English  law 
prohibits  the  employment  of  women  within  four  weeks  after  child- 
birth. In  this  country  the  Massachusetts  law  contains  a  similar 
prohibition.  There  may  be  difficulty  in  enforcing  such  provisions, 
but  the  State  should  in  its  statutes  emphatically  protest  against 
this  deplorable  waste  and  neglect  of  infant  life. 

RECOMMENDATION. 

The  Commission  at  this  time  recommends  the  addition  of  the 
following  section  to  the  Labor  Law  of  the  State: 

Sec.  98  (a).  Prohibition  of  employment  of  females  after 
childbirth.  No  owner,  proprietor,  manager,  foreman  or  other 
competent  authority  of  any  factory,  mercantile  establishment, 
mill,  or  workshop  shall  knowingly  employ  a  female  or  allow 
a  female  to  be  employed  therein  within  four  weeks  after- 
she  has  given  birth  to  a  child. 

Further  consideration  and  study  may  result  in  the  recommenda- 
tion of  a  provision  that  can  be  more  readily  enforced,  but  the 
Commission  believes  that  this  provision  is  a  step  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, and  should  be  taken  at  once. 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  101 

CHILD  LABOR 

EXTENT  OF  CHILD  LABOR  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

In  the  State  of  New  York,  in  1911,  there  were  13,083  children 
under  the  age  of  sixteen  found  actually  working  in  factories  and 
manufacturing  establishments.  The  last  available  statistics  showed 
that  the  average  weekly  wage  of  all  children  in  the  Staite  was  $3.64 
(U.  8.  Census  Report,  1905}.  At  public  hearings  held  in  the 
different  cities,  a  large  amount  of  testimony  was  received  concern- 
ing the  conditions  under  which  children  are  employed.  Manu- 
facturers, representatives  of  organizations  interested  in  the  wel- 
fare of  the  children,  and  some  of  the  children  themselves  were 
examined. 

Under  the  present  la^,  no  child  under  the  age  of  14  is  per- 
mitted to  work  in  or  in  connection  with  any  factory  in  this  State. 
No  child  between  the  age  of  14  and  16  years  is  permitted  to  be 
so  employed  unless  an  employment  certificate  is  obtained  and 
filed  in  the  office  of  the  employer  at  the  place  of  employment  o£ 
puch  child.  This  certificate  is  granted,  generally  speaking,  if 
the  child  satisfies  three  requirements  as  to  age,  physical  condition 
and  education. 

PHYSICAL   SUPERVISION   OF  WORKING   CHILDREN. 

Only  in  doubtful  cases  is  the  physical  fitness  of  the  child  under 
16  years  of  age  determined  by  a  medical  officer  of  the  Board  or 
Department  of  Health.  [Sec.  71  (e)  of  the  Labor  Law.] 

There  is  no  standard  of  physical  fitness  prescribed  by  the  law 
The  New  York  City  Board  of  Health  has  adopted  a  standard  of 
80  pounds  in  weight  and  58  inches  in  height,  yet  local  boards  of 
health  in  other  cities  of  the  State  may  adopt  any  other  standard. 
Health  officers,  physicians  and  representatives  of  child  labor  com- 
mittees who  have  appeared  before  the  Commission  stated  em- 
phatically that  the  present  system  of  physical  examination  before 
the  issuance  of  an  employment  certificate  is  superficial  and  en- 
tirely inadequate.  The  following  table  shows  the  number  of 
employment  certificates  issued  by  the  Board  of  Health  of  the 
City  of  New  York  within  the  past  five  years,  together  with  the 
number  refused  because  of  physical  unfitness. 


102  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

Certificates 

Refused 

Certificates  Because  of  Phys- 

Year  Issiird.  ical  Unfitness. 

1906  21,220  5 

1907  23,013  4 

1908  23,932  111 

1909  29,343  291 

1910  56,351  501 

The  improvement  respecting  the  employment  of  the  physically 
unfit  is  marked,  but  is  not  nearly  what  it  should  be. 

A  thorough  physical  examination  of  every  child  should  be 
made  before  the  working  certificate  is  issued,  so  as  to  prevent 
the  employment  of  those  physically  unfit.  In  addition  a  periodi- 
cal physical  examination  of  all  minors  in  factories  until  they 
attain  the  age  of  at  least  18  years  should  be  required.  Coupled 
with  this  supervision,  either  the  local  Health  Department,  or  the 
Division  of  Medical  Inspection  of  the  State  Department  of  Labor, 
or  the  one  under  the  supervision  of  the  other,  should  be 
given  the  power  to  dismiss  any  minor  from  an  employment 
deemed  injurious  to  the  minor's  health.  This  power  is  con- 
ferred on  inspectors  by  the  laws  of  England  and  Massachusetts. 
Our  statute  sets  forth  merely  a  number  of  occupations  deemed 
injurious  in  which  the  employment  of  children  is  prohibited. 
This  list  is  inadequate.  It  fails  to  cover  a  great  many  dangerous 
occupations,  and  overlooks  the  fact  that  there  may  be  processes 
or  methods  of  manufacturing  in  a  given  industry  which  are  30 
injurious  to  the  health  of  minors  as  to  justify  their  exclusion 
therefrom.  It  loses  sight  of  the  fact  that  an  employment  which 
may  be  carried  on  with  impunity  by  a  child  of  strong  physique 
may  mean  death  to  many  others.  All  of  the  numerous  witnesses 
who  have  appeared  before  the  Commission,  professional  and  lay- 
men, have  testified  to  the  advisability  of  having  such  continued 
medical  supervision.  Some  have  said  that  while  advisable,  it 
was  impracticable.  Of  course,  it  would  be  a  financial  cost,  but  the 
Commission  cannot  emphasize  too  strongly  the  fact  that  this  cost 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  103 

would  be  insignificant  compared  with  the  benefits  that  would 
accrue. 

The  child  is  supervised  by  the  State  in  the  public  school  until 
he  attains  the  age  of  at  least  14  years.  Surely  the  need  of  medical 
supervision  is  greater  during  the  next  few  years  when  these  young 
boys  and  girls  become  workers  and  develop  into  manhood  and 
womanhood.  That  efficiency  means  physical  vigor  unimpaired 
hardly  requires  demonstration. 

Specific  recommendations  for  the  regular  physical  examination 
of  all  children  employed  in  manufacturing  establishments  cannot 
be  made  until  the  Labor  Department  is  provided  with  a  sufficient 
number  of  medical  inspectors  for  that  purpose. 

CONTINUATION  SCHOOLS. 

The  present  law  prescribes  in  substance  that  the  child  must  be 
able  to  read  and  write  simple  sentences  in  the  English  language, 
must  have  received  some  instruction  in  reading,  spelling,  writing, 
English  grammar  and  geography,  and  must  be  familiar  with  the 
elementary  operations  of  arithmetic  up  to  and  including  fractions. 

That  means  in  the  New  York  city  schools  that  the  child  has 
reached  the  5-B  grade.  The  child  entering  school  at  the  age  of 
7  will  reach  that  grade  when  about  12^  years  old.  We  require, 
therefore,  for  14-year  old  children  the  standard  ordinarily  attained 
at  12^/2  years  of  age.  The  question  of  the  advisability  of  raising 
this  educational  requirement  should  receive  careful  consideration. 

Under  our  present  economic  system,  children  often  begin  their 
life  of  toil  at  an  early  age,  but  this  evil  certainly  does  not  lessen  the 
obligation  of  the  State  to  provide  for  their  education.  Modern 
factory  conditions  undoubtedly  deaden  in  the  great  majority  of 
cases  whatever  intellectual  interest  the  child  may  have.  It  is  for 
these  young  workers  that  we  must  plan,  and  provide  with  even 
greater  care  than  for  those  who  are  fortunate  enough  to  continue 
at  school. 

So  far  as  child  workers  are  concerned,  the  elementary  evening 
schools  are  a  failure.  The  child  after  a  long  day's  toil  is  too  tired 
for  mental  work  in  the  evening,  which  should  instead  be  devoted 
to  exercise  and  recreation.  W-m.  H.  Maxwell,  the  Superintendent 
of  Schools  of  the  City  of  New  York,  in  his  current  report,  states: 


104  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

"After  observing  and  studying  these  schools  for  thirty 
years,  I  am  now  convinced  that  the  attempt  to  give  instruc- 
tion in  the  ordinary  elementary  branches  in  the  evening  to 
boys  and  girls  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  of  age  is  a 
gigantic  blunder." 

Yet  for  this  most  unsuccessful  branch  of  public  education  over 
$400,000  is  annually  expended  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

That  some  further  education  of  the  child  is  necessary  after  he 
enters  the  factory  can  hardly  be  doubted.  In  Germany  and  other 
European  countries  the  problem  has  been  successfully  solved  by  a 
system  of  continuation  schools.  All  apprentices  from  14  to  16 
years  of  age  are  compelled  to  attend  such  schools  for  a  certain  num- 
ber of  hours  a  week  during  a  portion  of  the  year.  Employers  are 
obliged  to  allow  their  young  employees  a  definite  amount  of  time 
each  week  during  which  they  may  attend  these  schools. 

There  seems  to  be  no  reason  why  this  method  of  continuing  the 
education  of  young  workers  cannot  be  successfully  adopted  in  this 
State.  In  the  report  already  referred  to,  the  City  Superintendent 
of  Schools  of  the  City  of  New  York  says: 

"  I  recommend,  therefore,  that  in  lieu  of  the  evening  ele- 
mentary schools,  a  system  of  continuation  schools  from  7  to 
9  A.  M.,  and  from  4  to  6  p.  M.  be  organized ;  that  legislation  be 
sought  to  require  employers  to  give  each  employee  under 
19  years  of  age  four  hours  a  week  for  forty  weeks  each  year, 
and  to  constrain  young  people  between  these  ages  to  attend 
such  schools  regularly.  These  schools  would  become  true 
continuation  schools;  that  is,  they  would  continue  under 
favorable  conditions  the  education,  t  even  while  the  boy  or 
girl  is  at  work,  which  was  broken  off  at  any  year  below  the 
19th." 

Such  continuation  schools  would,  generally  speaking,  instruct 
the  child,  first,  in  a  trade  or  vocation;  second,  in  the  language  and 
literature  of  this  country;  third,  in  civics  and  history.  These 
schools  would  improve  the  worker  physically,  mentally,  morally 
and  financially;  would  better  the  conditions  of  labor  in  the  work- 
room, in  the  home  and  in  civic  life;  and  would  raise  the  character 
of  the  industries. 


EEPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  105 

The  present  school  buildings  can  readily  be  utilized  for  this 
purpose,  and  the  increased  expense  would  be  very  little  compared 
with  the  results  achieved.  This  subject  is  one  which  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Commission  merits  most  careful  consideration  and 
investigation. 

HOURS  OF  LABOR. 

For  children  between  14  and  16  years  of  age  employed  in  fac- 
tories and  manufacturing  establishments  the  State  has  a  model  law. 
Section  77,  subdivision  1  of  the  Labor  Law  provides  as  follows: 

No  child  under  the  age  of  16  years  shall  be  employed  or 
permitted  to  work  in  or  in  connection  with  any  factory  in 
this  State  before  8  o'clock  in  the  morning,  or  after  5  o'clock 
in  the  evening  of  any  day,  or  for  more  than  8  hours  in  any 
one  day,  or  more  than  6  days  in  any  one  week. 

The  law  is  clear,  definite,  and  what  is  of  most  importance,  it  is 
enforceable  because  of  the  closing  hour  therein  prescribed.  When 
we  come  to  the  law  governing  the  employment  of  children  over 
16  years  of  age,  \ve  are  confronted  by  a  very  troublesome  situation. 
The  law  governing  their  employment  is  set  forth  in  Section  77, 
subdivisions  2  and  3,  and  Section  78,  subdivision  1,  of  the  Labor 
Law. 

These  sections  provide  in  substance  that  no  male  minor  under 
18  shall  be  employed  more  than  6  days  or  60  hours  in  any  one 
week  or  for  more  than  10  hours  in  any  one  day,  and  that  no  female 
under  21  years  shall  be  employed  before  6  or  after  9  o'clock  in 
the  evening,  or  more  than  10  hours  a  day  or  60  hours  a  week. 
But  females  over  16  and  males  between  16  and  18  may  be  em- 
ployed more  than  10  hours  a  day  either  regularly  in  order  to  make 
a  short  day  or  holiday  on  one  of  the  six  working  days,  or  irregu- 
larly not  more  than  three  days  a  week,  as  long  as  they  do  not  work 
more  than  12  hours  a  day  or  60  hours  a  week. 

These  laws  are  indefinite  and  inadequate.  They  are  unenforce- 
able because  they  do  not  fix  a  definite  closing  time,  they  permit 
overtime  that  is  destructive  to  health,  and  in  the  case  of  males 
between  16  and  18  years  of  age  and  female  minors  they  should 
undoubtedly  be  changed.  Just  what  changes  in  the  law  should 
be  made  can  be  determined  only  after  a  careful  study  of 
conditions. 


106  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

The  decision  in  the  case  of  People  vs.  Williams  by  the  Court 
of  Appeals  to  the  effect  that  a  closing  time  for  adult  women  is 
unconstitutional  does  not,  of  course,  apply  to  minors. 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

The  Commission  recommends  the  amendment  of  the  Labor  Law 
to  provide  for  a  thorough  physical  examination  of  the  child  by  a 
medical  officer  of  the  Department  or  Board  of  Health  before  a 
certificate  is  issued,  and  for  the  transmission  of  duplicate  records 
of  the  result  of  such  physical  examination  to  the  Department  of 
Labor. 

Sec.  71  (e)  should  be  amended  by  omitting  at  the  end  thereof 
the  following: 

In  doubtful  cases  such  physical  fitness  shall  be  determined 
by  a  medical  officer  of  the  Board  or  Department  of  Health. 
Every  such  employment  certificate  shall  be  signed  in  the 
presence  of  the  officer  issuing  the  same  by  the  child  in  whose 
name  it  is  issued. 

In  place  thereof,  the  following  provision  should  be  substituted: 

"  In  every  case,  before  an  employment  certificate  is  issued, 
such  physical  fitness  shall  be  determined  by  a  medical  officer 
of  the  Board  or  Department  of  Health  who  shall  make  a 
thorough  physical  examination  of  the  child,  and  record  the 
result  of  such  examination  on  a  blank  furnished  for  that 
purpose  by  the  State  Department  of  Labor,  and  shall  set 
forth  thereon  such  facts  concerning  the  physical  condition 
and  history  of  the  child  as  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  may 
require." 

Section  75  of  the  Labor  Law  should  be  amended  to  read  as 
follows: 

"  The  Board  or  Department  of  Health  or  Health  Commis- 
sioner of  a  city,  village  or  town,  shall  transmit  between  the 
first  and  tenth  day  of  each  month,  to  the  office  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor,  a  list  of  the  names  of  the  children  to 
whom  certificates  have  been  issued  together  with  a  duplicate 
of  the  record  of  the  physical  examination  of  all  such  children 
made  as  hereinbefore  provided" 


KEPOBT  OF  COMMISSION.  107 

FOUNDRIES 

GENEBAL  CONDITIONS. 

The  sanitary  conditions  in  the  brass,  iron  and  steel  foundries 
of  the  State  were  found  to  be  very  poor.  The  occupation  is  an 
arduous  one,  and  the  workers  during  the  day  are  exposed  to  marked 
changes  in  temperature.  The  washing  facilities  are  bad.  The 
system  of  ventilation  in  many  of  the  foundries  is  entirely  inade- 
quate. The  result  is  shown  by  the  number  of  moulders  suffering 
from  rheumatism,  pulmonary  diseases  and  kidney  trouble.  In 
many  of  the  foundries  there  is  no  system  of  forced  ventilatiofn  to 
remove  the  core  gas.  These  fumes  and  the  heavy  dust  from  cast- 
ings cleaned  in  the  workrooms  are  inhaled  by  the  workers,  and 
render  them  more  or  less  susceptible  to  all  forms  of  respiratory 
diseases. 

EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  IN  FOUNDRIES. 

Women  were  found  employed  in  foundries  in  Syracuse  and 
Buffalo.  They  work  under  exactly  the  same  condition  and  with 
the  same  surroundings  as  the  men.  They  are  subjected  to  the 
fumes  of  gas  and  to  the  smoke.  This  work  means  severe  manual 
labor,  and  altogether  the  occupation  seems  to  be  a  most  danger- 
ous one  for  a  woman  in  so  far  as  her  health  is  concerned. 

A  majority  of  these  women  seem  to  be  of  foreign  birth,  although 
there  are  some  who  are  natives  of  this  country.  The  wages 
received  by  them  are  small,  between  $4  and  $8  a  week,  while  men 
doing  similar  work  receive  about  $3  a  day. 

The  Commission  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  employment  of 
women  in  work  of  this  kind  in  foundries  in  the  State  should  be 
prohibited.  Their  employment  in  that  industry  is  not  only  a  great 
injury  to  themselves,  but  it  is  a  menace  to  posterity,  and  should  not. 
be  tolerated  by  any  civilized  community. 

The  Commission,  however,  at  this  time  is  not  prepared  to 
recommend  any  legislation  upon  this  subject  because,  in  the  short 
time  at  its  disposal,  it  has  not  had  sufficient  opportunity  to  gather 
all  the  necessary  facts  in  connection  with  such  employment. 


108  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

ACCIDENTS  IN  FOUNDRIES. 

Accidents  in  foundries  are  numerous.  They  are  caused 
mainly  by  two  conditions: 

1.  By  the  narrow  and  often  obstructed  passageways  or  gang- 
ways  which,   during  casting  time,   are  an  especial    element  of 
danger. 

2.  By  defective  ladles,  tongs,  chains  and  other  lifting  devices. 

There  is  room  for  material  improvement  in  the  conditions  in 
foundries  from  the  point  of  view  of  both  sanitation  and  safety. 
That  many  of  the  insanitary  conditions  in  the  foundries  to-day 
are  due  to  the  unenforcement  of  the  existing  law,  is  clearly  shown 
by  a  letter  addressed  to  the  Commission  by  a  local  secretary  of 
the  Moulders'  Union,  after  a  public  hearing  held  by  the  Com- 
mission. In  that  letter  the  secretary  of  the  Union  says: 

"  The  factory  inspector  for  this  district  has  given  the 
foundries  thirty  days'  notice  to  clean  up  and  put  them  in 
sanitary  condition.  This  is  being  complied  with  by  the  foun- 
dries. The  walls  and  ceilings  are  being  whitewashed,  new 
closets  are  being  installed,  glass  is  being  put  in  the  windows, 
and  a  general  cleaning-up  is  going  on.  One  foundry  cleaned 
its  roof  beams  of  seventeen  years'  accumulation  of  dust.  The 
brass  foundries  are  placing  hoods  over  the  furnaces  carrying 
off  a  large  part  of  the  fumes  of  coppers,  etc.  The  local  health 
authorities  are  also  co-operating  with  us  to  a  large  extent 
in  the  general  house  cleaning." 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

It  is  quite  clear,  however,  that  the  existing  laws  upon  this 
subject  are  inadequate.  An  amendment  to  the  Labor  Law  has 
been  proposed  by  the  Moulders'  Union  of  the  State  of  New  York 
which  seeks  to  remedy  some  of  these  evils. 

The  Commission  has  carefully  considered  the  provisions  of 
this  bill,  and  believes  that  its  passage  would  be  of  great  benefit 
to  those  employed  in  foundries. 

This  bill  requires  the  addition  of  a  new  section  to  the  Labor 
Law,  section  97,  and  provides  that  all  entrances  to  foundries 


REPORT  OF  COMMISSION.  109 

shall  be  constructed  so  as  to  minimize  drafts;  windows  shall  be 
kept  in  repair,  passageways  in  foundries  shall  be  of  such  width 
as  to  make  them  reasonably  safe,  and  shall  not  be  obstructed 
during  casting  time.  Smoke,  steam  and  gases  shall  be  removed, 
exhaust  fans  being  supplied  where  necessary  for  this  purpose. 

The  cleaning  of  castings  is  not  to  be  done  in  rooms  where 
other  work  is  going  on.  Foundries  shall  be  properly  and 
thoroughly  lighted,  and  in  cold  weather  sufficiently  heated.  All 
foundries  employing  more  than  five  moulders  shall  provide  suit- 
able washrooms  and  washing  facilities  and  lockers  for  clothes. 
All  apparatus  for  transporting  molten  metal,  and  all  machines 
shall  be  maintained  in  proper  condition  and  repair,  and  a  suffi- 
cient supply  of  lime  water,  olive  oil,  vaseline,  etc.,  shall  be  kept 
on  hand  in  the  event  of  accidents. 

The  Commission  recommends  the  passage  of  this  amendment 
to  the  Labor  Law.  Its  enactment  would  do  much  to  improve  the 
conditions  and  prevent  accidents  in  the  foundries  of  the  State, 
and  also  will  tend  to  lessen  the  diseases  with  which  many  of  those 
working  in  foundries  now  suffer. 

The  Commission  recommends,  therefore,  the  addition  of  a  new 
section  to  the  Labor  Law,  to  be  known  as  section  97,  as  follows : 

Sec.  97.  Brass,  Iron  and  Steel  Foundries. — - 1.  All  en- 
trances to  foundries  shall  be  so  constructed  and  maintained 
as  to  minimize  drafts,  and  all  windows  therein  shall  be  main- 
tained in  proper  condition  and  repair. 

2.  All  passageways  in  foundries  shall  be  constructed  and 
maintained  of  sufficient  width  to  make  the  use  thereof  by 
employees  reasonably  safe;  during  the  progress  of  casting 
such  passageways  shall  not  be  obstructed  in  any  manner. 

3.  Smoke,  steam  and  gases  generated  in  foundries  shall  be 
promptly  and  effectively  removed  therefrom,  and  whenever 
it  is  necessary,  exhaust  fans  of  sufficient  capacity  and  power, 
properly  equipped  with  piping  and  hoods,  shall  be  provided 
and  operated  to  remove  such  smoke,  steam  and  gases.     The 
milling  and  cleaning  of  castings  shall  be  done  in  rooms  not 
otherwise  used  during  the  progress  of  such  milling  or  clean- 
ing, and  provision  shall  be  made  for  confining  and  collecting 
the  dust  arising  during  the  process. 


110  REPORT  OF  COMMISSION. 

4.  All  foundries  shall  be  properly  and  thoroughly  lighted 
during  working  hours,  and  in  cold  weather  proper  and  suffi- 
cient heat  shall  be  provided  and  maintained  therein.  (The 
use  of  heaters  discharging  smoke  or  gas  into  workrooms  is 
prohibited.)  In  every  foundry  employing  five  or  more  mould- 
ers there  shall  be  provided  and  maintained  for  the  use  of 
employees  therein,  suitable  and  convenient  washrooms  ade- 
quately equipped  with  proper  hot  and  cold  water  service ; 
such  washrooms  shall  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary  and  shall  be 
properly  heated  during  cold  weather.  Lockers  shall  be  pro- 
vided for  the  safe-keeping  of  employees'  clothing,  and  proper 
facilities  shall  be  provided  for  drying  the  working  clothes 
of  employees.  Water-closets  used  by  foundry  employees  shall 
be  so  arranged  or  located  that  such  employees  in  passing 
thereto  or  therefrom  shall  not  be  exposed  to  outdoor  atmos- 
phere, and  such  water-closets  shall  be  properly  heated  during 
cold  weather. 

5.  The  flasks,  moulding  machines,  ladles,  cranes  and  ap- 
paratus for  transporting  molten  metal  in  foundries,  shall  be 
maintained  in  proper  condition  and  repair,  and  any  such 
tools  or  implements  that  are  defective  shall  not  be  used  until 
properly  repaired.  There  shall  be  in  every  foundry,  available 
for  immediate  use,  an  ample  supply  of  lime-water,  olive  oil, 
vaseline,  bandages  and  absorbent  cotton,  to  meet  the  needs 
of  workmen  in  case  of  burns  or  other  accidents;  any  other 
equally  efficacious  remedy  for  burns  may  be  substituted  for 
those  herein  prescribed. 

CONCLUSION. 

Within  the  few  months  at  the  Commission's  disposal,  it  has  done 
as  much  as  has  been  possible.  Much  longer  time  and  greater  re- 
sources are  needed  to  do  justice  to  the  subjects  under  investigation. 

A  comprehensive  system  of  legislation  should  be  devised,  as  has 
been  indicated,  and  this  will  require  not  only  careful  thought  and 
study,  but  the  examination  of  existing  systems  in  this  and  other 
countries.  That  there  should  be  more  adequate  protection  and 
supervision  of  the  workingman  and  tbe  conditions  under  which 
manufacturing  is  carried  on  is  amply  demonstrated. 

While  the  present  laws  should  be  enforced,  and  meajns  should 
be  provided  for  their  proper  enforcement,  yet  it  is  felt  that  many 


REPORT  or  COMMISSION.  Ill 

of  them  are  inadequate  and  should  be  carefully  revised,  to  the 
end  that  life  may  be  preserved  and  lengthened,  that  social  con- 
ditions may  be  bettered,  and  that  the  State  and  the  Nation  may 
gain  in  economic  wealth  and  industrial  prosperity. 

Under  the  provision  requiring  the  Commission  to  recommend 
legislation  which  will  promote  the  best  interests  of  the  community, 
the  Commission  has  bee/n  urged  by  the  Fifth  Avenue  Association, 
the  League  of  American  Architects  and  other  associations  and  in- 
dividuals, to  recommend  legislation  which  will  tend  to  beautify 
Fifth  Avenue  and  the  streets  adjacent  thereto,  and  to  remedy 
conditions  resulting  from  the  large  number  of  manufacturing 
establishments  now  being  located  in  that  vicinity.  At  this  time  the 
Commission  is  unable  to  make  such  recommendations. 

This  report  is  respectfully  submitted. 

ROBERT   F.   WAGNER,   Chairman, 
ALFRED  E.  SMITH, 
SIMON  BRENTANO, 
SAMUEL  GOMPERS, 
CHARLES  M.  HAMILTON, 
EDWARD  H.  JACKSON, 
ROBERT  E.  DOWLING, 
MARY  E.  DREIER, 
CYRUS  W.  PHILLIPS, 

Commission. 

ABRAM  I.  ELKUS, 

BEENARD  L.  SHIENTAG, 

Counsel. 


APPENDIX    I 


PRELIMINARY  GENERAL  REPORT 

OF  THE 

DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION 


NEW  YORK,  Jan.  27th,  1912. 

Hex.  ROBERT  F.  WAGNEB,  Chairman 

New  York  State  Factory  Investigating  Commission, 

New  Yorlc  City. 
DEAK  Sifi: 

I  herewith  beg  to  submit  the  reports  of  the  sanitary  investiga- 
tion of  "  existing  conditions  under  which  manufacture  is  carried 
on  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class  in  the  State,  as  to 
matters  affecting  the  health  and  safety  of  operatives." 

The  investigations  have  been  made  under  my  direction,  pur- 
suant to  a  resolution  adopted  by  your  Commission,  September 
llth,  1911. 

The  reports  submitted  herewith,  are  as  follows: 

(1)  A  Preliminary  General  Report  of  the  Investigation. 

(2)  A   Special   Report  on  the   Inspection  of  Five  Hundred 

Bakeries  and  the  Physical  Examination  of  Eight  Hun- 
dred Bakers  in  New  York  City. 

(3)  Notes  on  Several  Trades  Employing  a  Large  Proportion  of 

Women. 

(4)  A  Preliminary  Report  on  One  Hundred  Cases  of  Lead 

Poisoning  in  New  York  City,    with  an  Appendix  on 
Arsenical  Poisoning. 

(5)  Notes  of  an  Industrial  Survey  of  a  Selected  Area  in  New 

York  City,  with  respect  to  Sanitary  Conditions  in  the 
Factories. 

(6)  A  Memorandum  on  the  Extent  of  Child  and  Home  Labor. 

Several  additional  reports  on  the  Chemical  Trades,  Printing 
Industry,  Tobacco  Trades,  and  several  other  trades,  will  be  sub- 
mitted later. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

G.  M.  PRICE,  M.  D., 

Director  of  Investigation. 


REPORT  OP  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  117 


PRELIMINARY   GENERAL   REPORT   OF   THE 
DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION 


THE    SCOPE,   ORGANIZATION  AND   WORK   OF   THE 
INVESTIGATION. 

1.  THE  FIRST  OF  ITS  KIND  IN  THIS  COUNTRY: 

The  investigation  into  the  "  existing  conditions  under  which 
manufacture  is  carried  on  as  to  matters  affecting  the  health  and 
safety  of  operatives,  to  the  end  that  such  remedial  legislation  be 
enacted  as  will  eliminate  existing  peril  to  the  life  and  health 
of  operatives,"  is  the  first  general  investigation  that  has  been 
made  by  any  legislature  in  this  country.  There  have  been 
several  legislative  investigations  of  special  industrial  conditions, 
such  as  the  Illinois  investigation  into  "  Occupational  Diseases,"  the 
Massachusetts  Commission  on  "  Factory  Inspection,"  the  Massa- 
chusetts and  Connecticut  investigations  into  "  Minimum  Wage," 
and  a  number  of  investigations  of  "  Industrial  Accidents  and  Com- 
pensation Insurance  Laws." 

It  is  appropriate  that  the  Empire  State,  with  its  forty-five 
thousand  industrial  establishments,  and  over  one  million  em- 
ployees, containing  nearly  20  per  cent  of  all  the  industrial  estab- 
lishments, and  one-sixth  of  the  industrial  population  in  the  United 
States,  should  be  the  pioneer  in  the  great  movement  of  industrial 
investigation  and  betterment. 

2.  SCOPE  OF  INVESTIGATION: 

The  scope  of  an  investigation  into  "  matters  affecting  the  health 
and  safety  of  operatives "  is  necessarily  a  very  broad  one,  em- 
bracing, as  it  does,  the  whole  range  of  the  various  factors  and 
conditions  affecting  the  health,  life  and  welfare  of  the  working 


118  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

people.  Of  these  various  factors  of  industrial  life  we  need  men- 
tion but  the  following: 

1.  Age,  Sex,  Personal  Habits,  Education,  etc.,  of  the  workers. 

2.  The  Work-place  and  Working  Conditions,  such  as:     Fire 
Protection,     Light,     Illumination,     Ventilation,     Temperature, 
Humidity,    Sanitary    Care,    Comforts,    Cleanliness,    Hours    of 
Labor,  Wages,  etc. 

3.  Working  Materials  and  Processes,  such  as:    Dusts,  Poison, 
Gases,  Fumes,  Machinery,  Infective  Material  and  other  danger- 
ous elements. 

3.  THE  EXTENT  OF  THE  FIELD  OF  INVESTIGATION: 

The  extent  of  the  field  of  industrial  investigation  in  the  State 
is  as  follows : 

There  are  two  cities  outside  of  Greater  New  York  in  the  first 
class,  and  six  cities  in  the  second  class.  The  number  of  separate 
industries  tabulated  in  the  United  States  Census  is  168,  with  80 
supplementary  industries,  which  are  embraced  under  the  common 
heading  "  all  other  industries,"  a  total  of  248  separate  industries. 
The  total  number  of  separate  industrial  establishments  in  this 
State  is  44,935,  with  a  total  number  of  wage  workers  of 
1,003,981. 

In  Greater  New  York  alone  there  are  31,156  establishments, 
with  a  total  of  677,885  workers. 

The  number  of  separate  workshops  does  not  correspond  with 
the  number  of  establishments,  for  the  reason  that  many  estab- 
lishments have  two  to  ten  separate  workshops.  The  number  of 
separate  workshops  therefore  in  this  State  is  probably  over 
150,000. 

4.  LIMITATION  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION: 

The  scope  of  the  investigation  being  so  broad  and  the  extent 
of  the  field  so  vast,  it  is  self-evident  that  there  was  no  possibility 
of  making  either  an  extensive  investigation  of  all  the  factors 
affecting  industrial  conditions,  or  of  all  the  industries  or  industrial 
establishments  in  the  State,  or  of  making  a  very  intensive  inves- 
tigation into  one  or  more  of  the  conditions  of  industrial  life. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  119 

5.  RESOURCES  AND  DURATION  OF  INVESTIGATION  : 

The  budget  allowed  for  the  whole  investigation  was  $5,500.00, 
including  the  salaries  of  the  Director  of  the  Investigation  and  of 
the  Fire  Expert,  and  of  the  expenses  of  the  fire  protection  inves- 
tigation; leaving  the  sum  of  about  $2,600.00  for  the  work  of  sani- 
tary investigation. 

The  work  of  inspection  was  organized  October  1st,  1911 ;  the 
actual  field  work  was  begun  October  9th,  and  stopped  December 
1,  1911.  Greater  attention  was  paid  to  New  York  City,  where 
the  investigation  was  conducted  from  October  9th  to  November 
15th.  The  last  two  weeks  in  November  were  devoted  to  a  brief 
investigation  of  a  very  limited  number  of  establishments  in  the 
six  remaining  cities. 

6.  WORK  ACCOMPLISHED: 

The  inquiry  was  divided  into  two  main  divisions:  (1)  a 
general  sanitary  investigation  of  various  industries  and  industrial 
establishments,  and  (2)  a  special  investigation  of  physical  con- 
ditions of  workers,  child  labor,  lead  poisoning,  etc. 

I.     GENERAL  SANITARY  INVESTIGATION: 

The  general  sanitary  investigation  was  limited  to  the  industries 
and  establishments,  as  indicated  in  Table  II,  20*  industries,  1,836 
industrial  establishments,  and  3,001  individual  shops  having 
been  inspected  during  the  five  weeks  of  work  by  a  staff  of  eight 
to  ten  inspectors. 

The  industries  included  in  this  general  sanitary  investigation, 
were  as  follows : 

1.  The  "  Chemical  Trades  ": 

Ninety-three  establishments  have  been  inspected  by  Inspector 
Stuart  Owens,  a  graduate  chemist,  and  by  Mr.  John  Vogt,  a 
competent  chemist,  who  was  transferred  to  us  by  the  courtesy  of 
Commissioner  John  Williams.  The  branches  of  the  chemical 


*This    does    not    include    industries    inspected    by  the    Bureau    of    Social 
Research. 


120 


KEPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


TABLE 

MANUFACTURES  IN 
CITIES  OF  THE  FIRST 


Greater 
New  York 

Buffalo 

Rochester 

Syracuse 

No.  of  establishments  
Capital               

25,938 
$1,364,353,000 

1,752 
$192,871,000 

1,203 
$95,708  000 

739 
$51,744,000 

Cost  of  materials  used  .  .  . 
Salaries  and  wages  

1,092,155,000 
445,772,000 

136,120,000 
38,052,000 

50,674,000 
29,252  000 

21,781,000 
13,737,000 

Miscellaneous  expenses  

266,034,000 

20,402  000 

14,432  000 

5,794  000 

Value  of  products  

2,029,693,000 

218,283,000 

112  676  000 

49,444,000 

Value   added   by   manu- 
facture   

937,538,000 

82,163,000 

62,002,000 

27,663,000 

Employees: 
No.  salaried  officials  and 
clerks    

97,453 

8,339 

6  467 

12,907 

Average     no.     of     wage 
earners  

554,002 

51  ,393 

39,108 

18,151 

REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


121 


No.  1. 

NEW  YORK  STATE. 

AND  SECOND  CLASS. 


Utica 

Schenectady 

Troy 

Albany 

Yonkers 

Total    1st    and 
2nd  class  cities 
in  N.  Y.  state 

317 

$27.796,000 
16,646,000 
7,513,000 
3,173,000 
31,199,000 

134 

$51,816,000 
21,952,000 
13,088,000 
2,362,000 
38,165,000 

363 
$39,309,000 
15,626,000 
11,602,000 
4,861,000 
.37,980,000 

395 
$26,276,000 
10,521,000 
6,815,000 
3,332,000 
22,826,000 

158 
$58,769,000 
43,202,000 
8,024,000 
3,265,000 
59,334,000 

30,999 
$1,  912,  632,  000 
1,408,677,000 
837,123,000 
323,655,000 
2,599,600,000 

14,553,000 

16,213,000 

22,354,000 

12,325,000 

16,132,000 

190,943,000 

1,205 

2,677 

1,777 

1,336 

885 

123,046 

13,153 

14,931 

20,020 

9,681 

12,711 

733,150 

122  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

trades  inspected,  varied  from  the  manufacture  of  commercial 
acids  to  the  manufacture  of  drugs,  poisons  and  paints.  A  special 
report  of  this  investigation  will  be  presented  to  the  Commission 
later. 

2.  Manufacture  of  Food-Stuffs: 

Six  hundred  and  twenty-six  establishments  manufacturing 
various  food-stuffs:  bread,  meat,  pickles,  ice-cream,  sugar,  etc., 
were  investigated.  A  special  report  on  the  'bakeries  is  herewith 
presented. 

3.  Women's  Trades: 

An  investigation  was  made  of  the  following  industries,  where 
a  large  percentage  of  the  employees  are  women:  Artificial 
flowers  and  feathers,  Laundries,  Paper-box  Trade,  Clothing 
(women's  waists)  and  Textiles. 

A  special  report  on  this  investigation  is  herewith  presented. 

4.  The  Printing  Trades: 

Our  inspectors  investigated  three  branches  of  the  printing  trades, 
viz. :  Typesetting,  Photo  Engraving  and  Lithograph-work.  Two 
hundred  and  ninety-three  establishments,  and  four  hundred  and 
twenty-six  separate  shops  have  been  inspected.  A  special  report 
on  The  Printing  Trades  will  be  presented  later. 

5.  Tobacco  Trades: 

One  hundred  and  fifty-one  inspections  of  cigar,  cigarette  and 
snuff  tobacco  factories  were  made,  and  a  special  report  on  this 
trade  will  be  forthcoming. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  the  following  miscellaneous  industries 
have  been  inspected:  Corks,  Rag-sorting,  Human-hair,  Dyeing 
and  Cleaning,  etc. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


123 


TABLE   No.  2. 
WORKERS  IN  SHOPS  A.ND  ESTABLISHMENTS  INSPECTED. 


INDUSTRY 

NEW  YORK 

OTHER  CITIES 

No. 
Inspected 

No. 

Estab- 
lishments 
inspected 

No. 
Workers 

No. 
Inspected 

No. 

Estab- 
lishments 
inspected 

No. 
Workers 

Printing  

410 
157 
217 

497 
142 
5 
27 
35 
3 
63 
6 

120 
155 
104 
104 

22 
34 
1 
131 
69 
400 

285 
100 
93 

416 
50 
5 
6 
8 
3 
51 
4 

94 
90 
44 
70 

19 
9 
1 
67 
19 
200 

6,474 
2,677 
1,739 

3,002 
2  771 
50 
470 
341 
3,400 
443 
87 

1,891 
3,084 
2,142 
5,351 

611 

304 
23 
547 
929 
4,626 

16 

8 

175 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Food  Stuffs. 
Bread  

2 
15 

1 
4 

19 
140 

Candy  

Pickles 

8 

1 

900 

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial  flowers     

48 
30 
95 

26 
9 
30 

2,873 
1,349 
3.000 

Clothing  

Miscellaneous. 
Corks      .  .            

Raga  

4 
21 

1 
7 

27 
640 

Textiles  

Cleaning  and  dyeing  
Other  trades  

51 

22 

5,444 

Total  

3,001 

1,636 

41,891 

290 

109 

12.977 

II.    SPECIAL  INVESTIGATIONS: 

1.  Physical  Examinations:     A  special  feature  of  the  investiga- 
tion was  made  in  the  physical  examination  by  our  medical  staff 
of  800  bakers  in  their  workshops  and  during  their  work.     This 
investigation  was  accomplished  within  two  weeks  by  a  staff  of 
physicians  and  with  the  assistance  of  the  officials  of  the  Baker's 
Union.    This  medical  examination  was  made  simultaneously  with 
an  inspection  of  the  sanitary  conditions  of  500  bakeries. 

At  the  request  of  the  Furrier's  Union,  a  physical  examination 
has  been  made  of  85  furriers.  A  detailed  account  of  the  results 
of  these  examinations  is  made  in  a  special  report. 

2.  The  great  interest  that  was  created  by  the  report  of  the 
Illinois  Occupational  Diseases    Commission,    and    by    the    later 
federal  reports  on  this  subject,  has  induced  us  to  begin  a  study 


124  KEPOET  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

of  lead  poison  in  New  York  State.  The  preliminary  inquiry 
was  conducted  under  the  direction  of  the  Commission  by  Dr.  E. 
E.  Pratt,  Assistant  Professor  of  Economics  and  Statistics  in  the 
New  York  School  of  Philanthropy.  With  the  aid  of  a  staff  of 
students  he  has  inspected  over  fifty  establishments,  and  inves- 
tigated over  100  cases  of  lead  poisoning,  in  addition  to  making  a 
preliminary  investigation  of  arsenical  poisoning.  Dr.  Pratt's 
report  is  herewith  presented  to  the  Commission. 

3.  The  difficulty  of  regulating  the  conditions  surrounding  the 
employment  of  little  children  and  all  the  members  of  the  family 
in  "  home  work  "  in  the  tenements  ha®  led  the  National  Child. 
Labor  Committee  to  urge  the  Legislature  during  the  last  session 
to  create  a   Special   Commission  to  study  this  most  important 
subject. 

In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  matter  legitimately  enters  into 
the  scope  of  the  work  of  this  Commission,  and  in  view  of  the 
earnestness  which  the  Commission  has  shown  in  the  pursuit  of 
its  investigation,  the  National  Child  Labor  Committee  has  (in 
the  person  of  its  general  secretary,  Mr.  Owen  R.  Lovejoy) ,  volun- 
teered to  start  under  the  auspices  of  this  Commission  a  pre- 
liminary inquiry  into  the  extent  of  home  and  child  labor  in  this 
city.  The  memorandum  is  herewith  presented. 

4.  Industrial  Survey  of  a  District:     A  special  industrial  sur- 
vey   of    a    district    in    New    York    City   embracing   the    section 
between  34t'h  and  53rd  streets,  West  of  Eighth  avenue,   in  all 
containing  76  blocks,  was  made  under  the  auspices  of  the  Com- 
mission by  a  staff  of  inspectors  under  Miss  Pauline  Goldmark, 
in  charge  of  the  Bureau  of  Social  Research  of  the  New  York 
School  of  Philanthropy.     A  special  report  by  Miss  Goldmark  is 
presented  to  the  Commission. 

5.  Voluntary  assistance  in  several  investigations  has  also  been 
rendered  by  several  members  of  the  Women's  Welfare  Depart- 
ment of  the  National  Civic  Federation,  who  investigated  a  tene- 
ment house  block  for  the  Commission,  and  by  Mr.  Stern  of  the 
East  Side  Neighborhood  House. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


125 


TABLE   No.  3. 

NUMBER  OF  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  AND  WORKERS  INSPECTED  COMPARED    WITH 

ACTUAL  NUMBER  OF  ESTABLISHMENTS  AND  WORKERS  IN  STATE  (U.  S.  CENSUS, 

1910,  PRELIMINARY  REPORT.) 


No.  INVESTIGATED 

No.  IN  STATE 

%   Estab- 
lishments 
inspected 

%  Work 
inspected 

Estab- 
lishments 

Workers 

Estab- 
lishments 

Workers 

Printing  

293 
100 
93 

417 
54 
5 

6 
8 
3 
51 
5 

94 

110 
55 
200 

19 
10 
7 
67 
19 
222 

6,659 
2,677 
1.739 

3,021 
1.810 
50 

470 
341 
3.400 
443 
987 

1,891 
7,082 
2,595 
11,582 

611 

331 
1,513 
547 
929 
14,696 

4,426 
3.371 
*293 

3,976 
**249 

94,893 
36,197 
*14,267 

29,059 
**10,116 

6 
3 
32 

11 

}      » 

9 
60 
21 
2 

30 
7 
17 
6 

59 

6 
7 
12 

9 

18 

5 
14 

Tobacco  ... 

Chemicals  

Foodstuffs. 
Bread      

Candv  . 

Ice  cream  

Pickles    

790 
***86 
5 
x241 
238 

319 
x*  1.529 
315 
3,038 

32 

** 

64 
132 
81 
25,750 

8,818 
***2,504 

Spices  and  drugs  

xl,377 
7,583 

9,813 
X16.631 
12,702 
114,925 

928 
** 

9,907 
2,733 
5,782 
625,656 

30 
13 

19 
43 
20 
10 

66 

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial       flowers       and 

Clothing  (waists)  .... 

Miscellaneous. 

Textiles            .... 

11 
51 
23 
1 

15 

20 
16 
2 

Dyeing  and  cleaning  

Total  

1,838 

63,374 

44,935 

1,003,891 

4 

6 

*  Figures  taken  from  report  State  Dept.  Labor,  1910. 
x*  Includes  ice  cream  factories. 
"*  Figures  not  given  in  census  report. 
***  Includes  coffee  grinding  establishments. 

PERSONNEL: 

The  Commission  was  fortunate  in  having  been  able  to  secure 
the  services  of  a  very  competent  staff  of  inspectors,  notwithstand- 
ing the  temporary  character  of  the  work  and  the  comparatively 
meager  compensation.  The  following  is  a  list  of  the  names  and 
qualifications  of  the  inspectors : 

Violet  Leonard  Pike,  A.  B.,  Vassar  College,  1907,  Secretary 
and  Special  Investigator. 

Louise  Carey,  Bryn  Mawr  College. 

Archibald  Oliver  Wood,  M.  D.,  Long  Island  College  Hospital, 
Kingston  Avenue  Hospital. 


126 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


Herbert  S.  Warren,  B.  S.,  Graduate  College  of  the  City  of  New 
York,  practical  printer. 

Harvey  B.  Matthews,  M.  I).,  Columbia  University. 

R.  Stuart  Owens,  A.  B.,  Cornell  University. 

D.  E.  Roelkey,  Graduate  Fordham  College. 

D.  Cummings. 

Elizabeth  Wettingfeld,  Ph.  B.,  Syracuse  University. 

Marie  Kasten. 

Joseph  Ball,  machinist. 

Ida  Rovinsky,  M.  D. 

Clara  Lemlich. 

Max  Halpern,  Ph.D.,  Columbia  College. 


TABLE  No.  4. 

NEW  YORK  STATE  FACTORY  COMMISSION — INVESTIGATING  COMMITTEE. 
SALARY  Accoujrr,  SEPTEMBER  25TH,  1911,  THROUGH  FEBRUARY  1,  1912. 


NAMB                          Position 

i     • 

Service 
begun 

Service 
ended 

Time  served 

Total 
salary 

Dr.  George  M.  Price  
H   F  J  Porter  . 

Director  

3    months 
2    months 
2    months 
51    days  .  . 
51}  days  .  . 
1    month  . 
1    month  . 
1    month  . 
1    month  . 
6    weeks. 
1    month  . 
1    month  . 
1    month  . 
2    weeks  . 
11    days.. 
6    weeks  . 
2    weeks. 
2    weeks. 
1    week.  . 
13    days  .  . 
11}  days.. 
9    days  .  . 
5    days  .  . 
9    weeks. 
17    weeks. 
12    weeks  . 
3    weeks. 
3    weeks. 
2    days  .  . 
5    days  .  . 
i  day  .  .  . 
2    days  .  . 
1    day... 
2    days  .  . 

$1.600.00 
500.00 
200.00 
192.48 
194.24 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
160.00 
100.00 
102.00 
100.00 
36.00 
33.00 
145.00 
36.00 
55.00 
22.00 
52.00 
46.00 
36.00 
20.00 
135.00 
3S1.66 
136.00 
32.00 
21.00 
3.00 
20.00 
1.00 
4.00 
2.00 
10.00 

Fire  Expert.  .  .  . 

A.  L.  A.  Himmelwright.  .  . 
David  S.  Ludens  

Fire  Expert.  .  .  . 

Inspector  
Insoector.  .  . 

Sept.  27th.  Nov.   18th. 
Sept.  27th.  Nov.    18th. 
Oct.      9th.;Nov.    llth. 
Oct.      9th.  Nov.    llth. 
Oct.      9th.  Nov.   llth. 
Oct.      9th.  i  Nov.    llth. 
Oct.      9th.  Dec.       1st 
Oct.     17th.!  Nov.    18th. 
Oct.     16th.  Nov.    18th. 
Oct.      9th.lNov.    llth. 
Dec.      4th.  Dec.     16th. 
Dec.      5th.  Dec.    16th. 
Oct.    23rd.  Dec.     2nd. 
Oct.    30th.  Nov.    llth. 
Nov.   20th.  ;  Dec.     2nd. 

E   B   Gowin            .    .    . 

R.  Stuart  Owens..      .    .      'Inauector  

Archibald  O.  Wood  
Herbert  S.  Warren  

Inspector  
Inspect  >r  
Inspector  
Inspector  
Inspector. 
Inspector.    .  .    . 
Inspector  
Inspector  
Inspector  
Inspector  

Harvey  B.  Matthews  
Elisabeth  Wettingfeld.  .  .  . 
David  Cummings  

D.  E.  Roelkey  
Max  Halpern  

Dr.  I.  Rovinsky  
Clara  Lemlich  

Marie  Kasten  

Inspector  
Inspector  
Inspector  

.1.  Ball  

J    Davis                    .... 

Dr.  Michael  Barsky  
Dr.  A.  Riezer  
Dr.  I.  Workman  
Dr.  H.  Langworthy  
Clara  Salem  

Physician  
Physician  
Physician  
Physician  
Stenographer.  .  . 
Secretary  
Asst.  Sec'y  
Typist  

Oct.    30th. 
Oct.    30th. 
Oct.    30th. 
Oct.    30th. 
Sept.  25th. 
Sept.  26th. 
Oct.    30th. 
Jan.     16th. 
Jan.     15th. 
Jan.      5th. 
Oct.     31st. 
Nov.    1st. 
Nov.       1st. 
Nov.      1st. 
Nov.     8th. 

Nov.   25th. 
Jan.    20th. 
Jan.     20th. 
Jan.    27th. 
Jan.     27th. 
Jan.       6tb. 

Violet  Pike  

Estelle  Barsky  
Beatrice  Rose 

Rebecca  Kasovitch  . 

Clerical  Asst  .  .  . 
Clerical  Asst  .  .  . 
Interpreter  .... 
Interpreter  .... 
Interpreter  .... 
Interpreter  .... 
Physician  

Mary  Carnela  .            .    . 

Arthui  Caroti  

S  Levin 

J  .  Rosenbach  .  .  . 

Anton  Luts.  .  . 

Dr.  J.  Radda  

Total  salaries  

$4.675,38 

KEPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


127 


TABLE   No.  5. 

NEW  YORK  STATE  FACTORY  COMMISSION. 
FINANCIAL  REPORT — JANUARY  27,  1912 


APPROPRIATION  ....        .                .    .        

$5,500  00 

DISBURSEMENTS 
Salaries:     (For  detailed  statement  see  Table    4).  .  . 

$4,675  38 

Expenses  of  inspectors: 
Traveling  expenses  of  Director  and  Mr.  Porter  

$149  22 

Expenses  of  four  inspectors  up  State  

160.55 

Expenses  of  fourteen  inspectors  in  N.  Y.  City  

130.41 

Total  expenses  of  inspectors  

440.18 

Equipment: 
Badges  

44.00 

Thermometers  

27.25 

Photographs  

55.75 

Rulers,  Portfolio,  lamps,  book  

16.24 

Rent  typewriter  

2.50 

Total  expenses  equipment  

145.74 

Office  expenses: 

43  27 

Stamps  

10.79 

Express  charges  

5.00 

Notary's  fees  

2.36 

Extra  typewriting  

35.21 

Total  office  expenses  

96.63 

Printing  

142.07 

Total  disbursements  

$5,500  00 

128  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

RESULTS  OF  THE  DATA  OBTAINED  BY  THE 
INVESTIGATION 

1.  NEGLECT  OF  THE  HUMAN  FACTOR. 

Brief  as  was  the  period  devoted  to  the  investigation,  limited 
as  was  the  number  of  industries  and  establishments  inspected,  and 
incomplete  as  was  necessarily  all  our  data,  the  conclusion  that  for- 
cibly impressed  itself,  after  the  completion  of  the  preliminary 
investigation,  was  that  the  human  factor  is  practically  neglected  in 
our  industrial  system. 

Many  of  our  industries  were  found  housed  in  palatial  loft 
buildings,  and  employing  the  most  improved  machinery  and 
mechanical  processes,  but  at  the  same  time  greatly  neglecting  the 
care,  health  and  safety  of  their  employees.  Our  system  of  indus- 
trial production  has  taken  gigantic  strides  in  the  progressive 
utilization  of  natural  resources  and  the  exploitation  of  the  inven- 
tive genius  of  the  human  mind,  but  has  at  the  same  time  shown 
»  terrible  waste  of  human  resources,  of  human  health  and  life. 

It  is  because  of  this  neglect  of  the  human  factor  that  we  have 
found  so  many  preventable  defects  in  industrial  establishments; 
such  a  large  number  of  workshops  with  inadequate  light  and 
illumination,  with  no  provision  for  ventilation,  without  proper 
care  for  cleanliness,  and  without  ordinary  indispensable  comforts, 
such  as  washing  facilities,  water  supply,  toilet  accommodations, 
dressing-rooms,  etc.  It  is  because  of  utter  neglect  on  the  part 
of  many  employers  that  so  many  dangerous  elements  are  found 
in  certain  trades.  These  elements  are  not  always  necessary  for 
the  successful  pursuit  of  the  trade,  and  their  elimination  would 
mean  a  great  improvement  in  the  health  of  the  workers,  and 
would  stop  much  of  the  misery  caused  by  the  occupational  diseases 
incident  to  certain  industries. 

It  is  true  that  many  enlightened  employers,  especially  those 
who  control  large  establishments,  show  a  commendable  zeal  for 
the  health  of  their  operatives,  but  such  care  not  being  supervised 
or  organized  under  scientific  direction,  leaves  much  to  be  desired. 

In  the  matter  of  industrial  production,  we  are  still  under  the 
sway  of  the  old  "  laissez  faire  "  policy,  and  there  is  still  very 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  129 

inadequate  supervision  of  industries  with  a  view  to  lessening 
dangers  to  the  health  and  life  of  the  working  class. 

There  is  still  no  regulation  whatever  of  factory  construction, 
outside  of  the  rules  adopted  by  municipal  building  codes  which 
regulate  only  the  width  of  walls,  the  strength  of  foundations,  etc. 
All  matters  of  sanitation  are  without  control  during  the  times 
when  such  control  could  best  serve  the  purpose  of  the  buildings 
and  the  interests  of  those  destined  to  inhabit  them. 

The  construction  of  tenement  houses  in  New  York  City  is 
under  the  strict  supervision  of  the  Tenement  House  Department. 
There  is  no  reason  why  the  interests  of  the  greater  number  of  per- 
sons inhabiting  factory  buildings  should  not  'be  conserved  as  much 
as  the  interests  of  the  tenement  house  dwellers. 

2.  IGNORANCE    OF    THE    NUMBER    AND    OF    THE    LOCATION    OF 
INDUSTRIAL  ESTABLISHMENTS. 

In  the  course  of  the  investigation,  much  difficulty  was  found 
in  locating  all  the  establishments  in  an  industry  or  a  district.  At 
present  there  is  no  method  by  which  every  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment may  be  located,  and  its  existence  brought  to  the  atten- 
tion of  the  authorities.  At  present,  any  person  who  has  the  neces- 
sary capital  or  credit  may  build,  lease,  or  hire  any  ramshackle 
building,  engage  as  many  workers  as  he  can  crowd  into  his  prem- 
ises, and  work  them  under  any  conditions.  The  very  existence  of 
this  establishment  may  not  be  known  to  the  Labor  Department, 
until  it  is  discovered  by  accident. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  Cloak  and  Suit  Industry,  made  dur- 
ing the  last  year,  by  the  Joint  Board  of  Sanitary  Control,  about 
30  per  cent  of  the  shops  were  found  unrecorded,  and  in  our  own 
investigation,  our  inspectors  found  the  utmost  difficulty  in  tracing 
many  establishments  which  were  never  recorded  by  the  Labor 
Department  in  the  list  sent  by  them  to  us. 


5 


130 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


TABLE   No.  6 

TABLE  SHOWING  TTPES  OF  BUILDINGS  OCCUPIED  BY  ESTABLISHMENTS  INVESTIGATED.  CLASS- 
IFIED ACCORDING  TO  INDUSTRIES. 

NOTE — In  this  table  the  unit  is  the  establishment,  in  other  tables  the  floor  or  shop. 


TOTAL 
ESTAB- 
LISH- 
MENTS 

SPECIAL 
FACTORY 

LOFT 

TENE- 
MENT 

CON- 
VERTED 
TENE- 
MENT 

DWELL- 
ING 

MISCEL- 
LANEOUS 

1 

42 

1 

d 

fc 

1 

0 

2 

* 

-w 

1 

1 

4> 

a 
S 

2 

6 
fc 

a 
S 

1 

£ 

t 

Printing  

293 
100 
93 

18 

8 

78 

6 
8 
84 

181 
61 
11 

62 
61 
12 

19 
20 
0 

6 

20 
0 

34 
1 
0 

12 

1 
0 

41 
10 
4 

14 

10 
4 

0 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Foodttuflt.        

131 

41 

31 

23 

18 

39 

30 

9 

7 

18 

13 

1 

1 

Candy       

54 

6 

8 
51 

7 

26 
3 
6 
5 
1 

48 
50 
75 
10 
14 

11 
3 
2 
3 
2 

20 
50 
25 
6 

29 

3 
0 
0 
36 
0 

6 
0 
0 
71 
0 

9 

9 
0 
0 
0 
0 

16 
0 
0 
0 
0 

4 
0 
0 

7 

4 

8 
0 
0 
13 
57 

1 

0 
0 
0 
0 

2 
0 
0 
0 
0 

2 

0 
8 
0 
0 

pickles      

Spices  and  drugs  

Meat  packing  

Women's  Trade*  
Artificial   flowers    and 
feathers  

457 

46 

10 

306 

67 

40 

11 
26 
0 
3 

18 

2 
0 
1 
15 

4 

38 

8 

9 

94 
110 
200 
53 

3 
34 
9 
0 

3 
31 
17 
0 

49 
34 
41 
182 

52 
31 
77 
91 

12 
24 
0 
1 

2 
0 
2 
8 

29 
7 
2 
0 

31 
6 

4 
0 

0 
9 
0 
0 

Laundries  

Clothing  (waists)  

131 

41 

31 

32 

24 

6 

5 

44 

34 

7 

5 

1 

1 

Corks  

14 

24 
7 
67 
19 

8 
14 
6 
0 
13 

60 
58 
87 
0 
69 

4 
6 
1 
20 
1 

30 
25 
13 
30 
5 

0 
0 
0 
1 
5 

0 
0 
0 
1 
26 

2 
0 
0 
42 
0 

10 
0 
0 
63 
0 

0 
3 
0 
4 
0 

0 
13 
0 
6 
0 

0 
1 
0 
0 
0 

0 

4 
0 
0 
0 

Textiles  

Dyeing  and  cleaning.  . 
Total  

1,205 

232 

19 

614 

51 

124 

10 

106 

9 

118 

10 

11 

1 

495  bake  shops  are  not  included  in  this  table.     The  miscellaneous  trades  inspected  by  the 
Bureau  of  Social  Research  are  also  not  included. 

3.  LACK  OF  STANDARDS  : 

The  worker  spends  the  greater  part  of  his  waking  hours  in 
the  workshop  and  factory.  The  proper  sanitation  of  the  work- 
place is  therefore  of  paramount  importance  to  the  worker,  both  to 
his  health  and  to  the  security  of  his  life. 

It  is  only  lately  that  intelligent  employers  have  awakened  to 
the  fact  that  factory  sanitation  is  very  closely  related  to  indus- 
trial efficiency,  and  that  neglect  of  this  subject  by  factory  owners 
is  detrimental  to  their  own  interests  as  well  as  extremely  injuri- 
ous to  their  workers. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  131 

It  is  also  but  lately  that  the  workers  themselves  have  realized 
the  value  of  proper  sanitation  of  factories,  and  have  added  this  to 
the  economic  demands  of  their  labor  organizations. 

Unfortunately,  there  is  hardly  a  field  of  science  where  there 
is  such  a  complete  lack  of  standards  as  in  industrial  hygiene. 

It  is  on  account  of  this  deplorable  lack  of  standardization  that 
many  provisions  of  the  labor  laws  are  so  vague  and  indefinite, 
and  that  large  employers,  willing  to  introduce  modern  safety 
devices  and  sanitary  conveniences  in  their  factories,  are  unable  to 
do  so  with  complete  success.  It  is  also  this  lack  of  standards  that 
makes  the  enforcement  of  the  sanitary  clauses  of  the  labor  laws  so 
unsatisfactory,  for  it  is  a  most  difficult  matter  for  the  inspector  to 
exactly  determine  what  is  meant  by  "  sufficient "  fire  protection, 
"  proper  "  light,  "  adequate  "  ventilation,  "  fit  "  toilet  accommo- 
dations, etc. 

The  standardization  of  factory  sanitation  is  one  of  the  most 
important  matters  which  the  Commission  has  considered  during 
its  brief  preliminary  investigation,  and  we  intend  to  devote  much 
attention  to  it  if  our  activities  are  continued. 

4.  LIGHT  AND  ILLUMINATION  : 

The  lack  of  standards  is  nowhere  more  acutely  felt  than  in  the 
lighting  and  illumination  of  workshops. 

According  to  the  unanimous  testimony  of  experts,  defective 
light  and  illumination  are  most  injurious  to  the  eyes  of  the 
workers.  Insufficient  light  causes  eye-strain  and  the  chain  of- 
symptoms  following  it,  and  thus  gradually  undermines  the  health. 
Much  of  the  work  in  factories  needs  close  application ;  the  colors 
necessitating  abundant  light,  and  the  work  so  minute  that  great 
strain  is  placed  upon  the  eyes.  Therefore  abundant  light  is  the 
first  necessity  in  a  factory. 

The  investigation  has  shown  that  a  large  number  of  factories 
inspected  are  defective  in  light;  that  fifty-two  per  cent  use  arti- 
ficial light  during  the  day  time;  that  the  light,  even  where  suffi- 
cient, is  not  properly  placed  with  relation  to  the  operatives;  that 
very  often  the  illuminants  are  too  near  the  workers ;  that  no  pro- 
tection whatever  from  glare  of  artificial  illuminants  is  given  in  a 
large  proportion  of  the  shops. 


132 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


The  installation  of  artificial  illumination  is  usually  made  with- 
out due  regard  to  the  location  of  the  workroom,  its  size,  the 
distance  from  the  workers,  the  color  of  the  materials,  and  the 
care  of  the  eyes  of  the  workers.  It  is,  therefore,  not  at  all 
strange  that  so  many  of  the  workers,  especially  the  women,  suffer 
from  the  effects  of  eye-strain  and  from  other  eye  diseases  due  to 
defective  light. 

It  is  not  only  the  small  shops  on  the  East  Side  that  suffer  in 
this  respect.  Many  of  the  large  industrial  establishments  made  a 
depressing  effect  on  the  writer  with  their  sombre,  semi-dark, 
prison-like  aspect. 

TABLE  No.  7. 
SHOPS    IN    SELECTED    INDUSTRIES,    CLASSIFIED    ACCORDING    TO    LIGHT    AND    VENTILATION 


TOTAL 
No. 
SHOPS 

SHOPS 
USING 
ARTIFICIAL 
LIGHTS 
DURING 
DAT 

SHOPS 
HAVING 
LIGHTS 
WITHOUT 
PROTECTION 
FROM  «LARE 

SHOPS 
USING 
MECHANICAL 
VENTILATION 

SHOPS 
USING 

SPBCIAL 
DEVICES 

No. 

Per 

cent. 

No. 

Per 

cent. 

No. 

Per 
cent. 

No. 

Per 
cent. 

Printing  

426 
157 
217 

156 
5 
27 
34 
63 
19 

120 
244 
135 
228 

22 
38 
28 
131 
69 

244 
22 
214 

91 
4 

22 
18 
42 
15 

20 
102 
34 
141 

5 
3 
10 
25 
11 

57 
14 

98 

60 
80 
81 
53 
66 
79 

16 

42 
25 
62 

23 
8 
36 
19 
16 

234 
8 
108 

140 
5 
18 
3 
42 
16 

116 
113 
117 
132 

18 
20 
14 
119 
8 

57 
5 
50 

90 
100 
66 
9 
66 
84 

96 
46 
87 
60 

22 
53 
50 
90 
12 

26 
16 

28 

4 
0 
5 

4 
0 
3 

7 

109 
20 
0 

2 

0 
2 
0 
13 

6 
10 
13 

3 
0 
19 
12 
0 
16 

6 

44 
15 
0 

9 

0 
7 
0 
19 

58 
38 
71 

7 
0 

4 
0 
3 

4 

3 
96 
5 
0 

0 
0 
7 
0 
1 

13 

24 
32 

4 
0 
15 
0 
5 
21 

3 
40 

4 
0 

..  j 

0 
0 
25 
0 
2 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Foodstuffs. 
Candv  .  . 

Ice  cream  

Pickles  

Spices  and  drugs  

M  ineral  waters  

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial     Sowers     and 
feathers  

Paper  boxes  

Clothing  (waist)   

Miscellaneous. 
Corks  

Rag  sorting  

Textiles  

Hurpftn  hf\ir  

Dyeing  and  cleaning  .... 
Total  

2,119 

1,023 

48 

1,231 

58 

239 

12 

297 

14 

5.  AIE  AND  VENTILATION  : 

Adequate  ventilation  of  factories  is  perhaps  even  more  import- 
ant than  adequate  light  and  illumination,  but  we  find  here  the 
same  lack  of  standards. 


REPORT  or  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  133 

The  removal  of  foul  air  from  our  houses  and  its  replace- 
ment by  fresh  and  pure  air  from  the  outside  is  most  neces- 
sary to  the  health  of  the  dwellers.  It  is  of  still  greater 
importance  in  factories,  where  the  number  of  persons  employed  is 
so  large,  and  where  many  activities  are  commonly  carried  on 
causing  a  larger  consumption  of  air,  and  where  the  materials  aud 
processes  are  often  such  that  much  dust  and  many  different 
noxious  gases  and  fumes  are  constantly  evolved. 

And  yet  only  fourteen  per  cent  of  all  the  establishments  inves- 
tigated have  attempted,  with  more  or  less  success,  the  introduction 
of  proper  ventilation  by  installing  mechanical  devices  for  the 
removal  of  bad  air  or  the  introduction  of  fresh  air.  The  remain- 
ing eighty-six  per  cent  rely  solely  upon  the  windows,  which,  being 
closed  in  the  cold  weather,  fail  to  serve  as  ventilating  media, 
while  in  summer  they  are  practically  useless,  since  the  tempera- 
ture of  the  inside  and  outside  is  nearly  equal  and  very  little 
change  of  air  takes  place. 

Professor  C.  E.  A.  Winslow,  an  acknowledged  expert  on  ven- 
tilation, testified  that  a  temperature  above  75  degrees  Fahr.  and  a 
wet  bulb  temperature  above  70  degrees  Fahr.  are  extremely  in- 
jurious to  health,  and  yet,  in  our  investigation,  many  places  were 
found  where  this  temperature  was  greatly  exceeded,  while  in  some, 
which  were  inspected  by  myself,  a  dry  bulb  temperature  of  98 
degrees  Fahr.  and  a  wet  bulb  of  90  degrees  were  found  recorded 
upon  the  thermometer.  A  superintendent  of  one  of  the  sugar 
refineries  testified  that  the  temperature  sometimes  reached  110 
degrees  Fahr. 

It  has  been  accepted  by  most  sanitarians  that  the  greater 
incidence  of  tuberculosis  and  other  respiratory  diseases  among 
workers,  especially  among  those  working  in  dusty  trades,  is  due 
to  the  lack  of  ventilation,  and  a  definite  and  compulsory  minimum 
standard  of  ventilation  for  every  establishment  is  most  necessary 
for  the  proper  enforcement  of  the  labor  laws. 

Closely  allied  to  the  question  of  ventilation  is  the  subject  of 
overcrowding  in  factories. 

The  present  law  requiring  250  cu.  feet  air  space  for  each  oper- 
ative is  very  inadequate.  In  an  ordinary  loft,  with  a  ceiling  of 
the  average  height  of  ten  feet,  this  provides  a  floor  space  for  each 


134  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

worker  approximately  5x5  feet.  In  calculating  the  cubic  space, 
no  deductions  are  made  for  bulky  machinery,  boxes,  tables,  etc. 

A  cubic  space  of  400  feet  for  each  adult  worker,  clear  of  all 
bulky  machinery,  goods,  and  tables,  should  be  insisted  upon  in  all 
factories,  with  the  additional  standard  of  a  floor  space  of  40  square 
feet  per  person,  and  a  passageway  of  three  feet  between  working 
benches  and  machine-stands. 

A  standard  of  ventilation  based  upon  the  amount  of  C  O2  should 
also  be  required.  A  bill  creating  such  a  standard  was  introduced 
in  the  last  Legislature  upon  the  recommendation  of  the  New  York 
Association  for  Labor  Legislation. 

The  fact  that  there  are  many  industries  and  many  industrial 
establishments  where  the  temperatures  are  so  high  as  to  be  dan- 
gerous to  the  health  of  the  operatives,  shows  that  there  should 
also  be  some  standard  as  to  degree  of  temperature  permitted  in 
the  workrooms. 

"  The  securing  and  maintaining  of  a  reasonable  temperature  in 
workrooms  "  is  one  of  the  basic  principles  of  factory  sanitation, 
and  power  should  be  given  to  the  Labor  Department  to  make 
special  rules  regulating  the  temperatures  of  industries  where 
extremes  of  temperatures  are  likely  to  occur,  and  also  to  compel 
the  owner  to  install  self-recording  thermometers  to  be  maintained 
and  kept  in  working  order. 

The  subject  of  mechanical  ventilation  in  the  industries  where 
excessive  dust  is  produced,  or  where  poisons,  gases,  and  fumes 
are  evolved,  is  covered  in  Section  No.  86  of  the  Labor  Law,  and 
is  very  vague,  indefinite,  and  unsatisfactory,  as  has  been  shown 
during  the  course  of  our  investigation;  only  fourteen  per  cent, 
of  the  workshops  kaving  any  ventilation  plants.  These  plants 
were  very  seldom  in  good  working  order.  In  many  industries 
where  the  danger  of  dust,  poison,  gases  and  fumes  are  obvious, 
there  was  a  lamentable  lack  of  ventilation. 

The  installation  of  a  good  working  ventilating  plant  with  proper 
hoods  to  remove  the  dusts,  gases  and  fumes  from  the  working 
places  should  be  insisted  upon  and  made  part  of  the  Factory 
Law,  as  such  plants  are  absolutely  necessary  for  the  prevention 
of  many  of  the  diseases  to  which  the  operatives  in  certain  trades 
are  subject. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  135 

6.  SANITARY  CARE  AND  COMFORTS: 

Nothing  so  well  illustrates  the  habitual  neglect  of  the  sanitary 
care  of  workshop  as  the  need  of  making  laws  to  enforce  ordinary 
cleanliness.  Our  investigations  have  shown  that  in  the  great 
majority  of  cases  even  these  laws  are  disobeyed. 

It  is  of  the  utmost  importance  to  the  health  of  the  workers  to 
provide  ample  washing  facilities  in  the  shops,  especially  in  estab- 
lishments where  dust  is  evolved,  or  where  various  poisons  are 
produced,  and  there  is  danger  of  their  absorption  through  the 
hands  and  mouth. 

Our  inspectors  found  very  little  attention  paid  to  this  most 
important  matter.  In  fifty-four  per  cent  of  all  establishments 
inspected,  there  were  no,  or  insufficient,  washing  facilities.  In 
some  industries  the  percentage  of  places  with  inadequate  facilities 
is  much  larger.  For  instance  in  the  ice-cream,  textile,  dyeing  and 
cleaning  establishments  not  one  shop  had  any  washing-rooms 
or  wash  basins.  In  the  chemical  manufacturing  establishments 
where  washing  facilities  are  of  such  importance  and  where  their 
absence  is  fraught  with  actual  danger  to  health,  there  were  only 
forty-one  establishments  out  of  a  total  of  ninety-three  which  did 
have  some  kind  of  wash-basins. 

Even  the  establishments  where  the  washing  facilities  were 
otherwise  adequate  very  seldom  provided  any  hot  water,  which 
is  absolutely  necessary  where  considerable  dust  or  special  poisons 
are  to  be  found. 

Lunch  Rooms: 

The  number  of  industrial  establishments  providing  separate 
lunch  rooms  is  very  small.  The  percentage  of  such  establish- 
ments ranges  from  zero  to  fourteen  in  the  different  industries.  In 
almost  all  of  the  shops,  therefore,  lunch  was  eaten  within  the 
shop  or  at  a  bench-table,  a  procedure  which  is  very  dangerous 
to  health  in  the  shops  where  there  is  much  dust  or  where  dan- 
gerous chemicals  or  poisons  are  handled. 


136 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


TABLE    No.  8. 

MANUFACTURING    ESTABLISHMENTS    IN    SELECTED    INDUSTRIES    CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING    TO 

SPECIAL  CONVENIENCES. 


TOTAL  No. 
ESTAB- 
LISHED. 

ADEQUATE 
WASHING  FACILITIES 

SEPARATE 
LUNCHROOMS. 

No. 

No. 

Per  cent. 

No. 

Per  cent. 

Printing  

293 
100 
93 

54 
5 
6 
8 
7 
51 

94 
110 
53 
200 

14 
24 

7 
67 
19 

239 
79 
41 

27 
0 
4 
3 
1 
13 

8 
13 
19 
126 

14 
10 
0 
58 
0 

82 
79 
44 

50 
0 
66 
38 
14 
25 

8 
12 
36 
63 

14 
42 
0 
86 
0 

2 
9 
6 

7 
0 
0 
1 

0 
0 

0 
6 
3 
5 

0 
0 
1 
3 
0 

1 
9 
6 

13 
0 
0 
12 
0 
0 

0 
5 
6 
3 

0 
0 

14 
5 
0 

Tobacco                 

Chemicals    

Foodstuffs. 
Candy  

Ice  cream  

Pickles  

Spices  and  drugs  

Meat  packing  

Mineral  waters  

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial  flowers  and  feathers  .  . 

T^viinHrie*  .  ,  ,  ,  ,     ,     ..... 

Paper  boxes  

Clothing  (waists)  

Miscellaneous. 
»  Corks  

Rags  

>    Textiles  

It  Human  hair  

»_  Dyeing  and  cleaning  

Total  

1.205 

555 

46 

43 

3 

Cleanliness: 

Ordinary  cleanliness  of  walls,  ceilings  and  floors  was  absent 
in  a  very  large  number  of  shops.  We  have  classified  the  cleanli- 
ness of  shops  according  to  four  grades :  Grade  "A,"  referring  to 
perfectly  clean  shops ;  Grade  "  B,"  to  shops  in  a  fair  condition ; 
while  Grades  "  O "  and  "  D  "  refer  respectively  to  dirty  and 
very  dirty  shops.  According  to  these  grades  we  found  592  shops 
in  Grade  "  C,"  and  364  in  Grade  "  D,"  a  total  number  of  45 
per  cent  of  all  the  establishments  being  in  the  two  lower  grades. 
This  grading  of  cleanliness  of  industrial  establishments  excludes 
the  500  bakeries  inspected,  which  are  reported  upon  separately. 

It  is  strange  to  note  that  establishments  where  food-stuffs  are 
manufactured  were  found  the  dirtiest  of  all.  Thirty-three  per 
cent  of  the  candy  factories  were  in  Grade  "  C,"  and  twenty-four 
per  cent  in  Grade  "  D ;"  thirty-three  per  cent  of  the  pickle  fac- 
tories were  in  Grade  "  C,"  and  twenty-three  per  cent  in  Grade 
"  D ;"  twenty-one  per  cent  of  all  the  meat  packing  shops  in  Grade 
"  C,"  and  fifty-eight  per  cent  in  Grade  "  D ;"  and  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  ice  cream  factories  in  Grade  "  D." 


REPORT  OF  DIEECTOK  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


137 


TABLE   No.     9. 

MANUFACTURING    ESTABLISHMENTS   IN    SELECTED    INDUSTRIES   ACCORDING   TO    GRADES  or 

CLEANLINESS. 


TOTAL 
No. 
SHOPS 

GRADE  A 

GRADE  B 

GRADE  C 

GRADE  D 

No. 

Per 

cent. 

No. 

Per 
cent. 

No. 

Per 

cent. 

No. 

Per 
cent. 

Printing  

426 
157 
217 

156 
5 
27 
34 
63 
19 

120 
244 
135 

228 

22 
38 
28 
131 
69 

72 
4 

28 

11 
0 
6 
5 
1 
3 

2 
34 
25 
69 

7 
8 
2 
6 
17 

16 
3 
13 

7 
0 
22 
15 
2 
16 

1 

14 
19 
31 

32 
22 
7 
5 
24 

227 
75 
123 

57 
1 
5 

23 
15 
1 

26 
81 
56 
46 

15 
3 
15 
52 
42 

53 
47 
57 

36 
20 
19 
67 
24 
5 

22 
33 
41 
20 

68 
8 
53 
39 
61 

102 
56 
62 

51 
0 
9 
1 
21 
4 

42 
74 
42 
49 

0 

17 
11 
42 
9 

24 
36 

28 

33 
0 
33 
3 
33 
21 

35 

30 
31 
21 

0 
45 
40 
32 
13 

27 
22 
4 

37 
4 

7 
5 
26 
11 

50 
55 
12 
64 

0 
10 
0 
31 
1 

7 
14 
2 

24 

80 
26 
15 
41 
68 

42 
0 
0 
28 

0 
26 
0 
24 
2 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Foodstuffs. 
Candy  

Ice  cream  

Pickles  

Spices  and  drugs  

Mineral  waters  

Meat  packing  

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial     flowers     and 
feathers  

Laundries  

Paper  boxes  

Clothing  (waists)  

Miscellaneous. 
Corks  

Rag  sorting  

Textiles  

Human  hair     

Dyeing  and  cleaning  .... 
Total  

2,119 

300 

14 

863 

41 

592 

28 

364 

17 

Toilet  Accommodations: 

The  investigation  has  shown  a  general  neglect  in  making  proper 
provision  for  toilet  accommodations.  There  were  none  whatever 
in  sixty-two  shops,  or  three  per  cent  of  all  the  shops  inspected. 
In  ninety-five  shops,  or  five  per  cent,  the  toilets  were  located  in 
the  yard,  which  is  the  worst  place  for  them.  In  146  shops,  or 
twenty-one  per  cent,  they  were  located  in  the  halls,  where  they  can- 
not be  well  taken  care  of. 

An  insufficient  number  of  toilets  was  supplied  for  the  employees 
in  a  large  number  of  cases. 

In  regard  to  light  and  ventilation  of  toilet  apartments  there 
were  three  hundred  and  forty-two  in  Grade  "  D  "  and  three 
hundred  and  fifty-eight  in  Grade  "  C,"  or  thirty^two  per  cent.* 

In  regard  to  cleanliness  of  toilets  twenty-four  per  cent  were  in 
Grade  "  C  "  and  sixteen  per  cent  in  Grade  "  D,"  showing  that 
very  little  attention  is  paid  to  this  very  important  feature. 

'Table  TI,  p.  139. 


138 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


These  deplorable  conditions  are  by  no  means  a  special  feature 
of  the  small  establishments;  some  of  the  largest  industrial  estab- 
lishments are,  at  times,  the  greatest  sinners  in  this  respect.  For 
instance,  in  the  two  largest  sugar  refineries  in  the  city,  belonging 
to  the  largest  manufacturers  in  the  country,  I  found  the  toilets 
not  only  inadequate  in  number,  and  obsolete  in  type,  but  kept  in  a 
shockingly  filthy  condition. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  many  accidents  occur  in  factories, 
there  are  very  few  in  which  emergency  rooms  or  first  aid  facilities 
were  found. 

•  The  investigation  has  clearly  shown  not  only  the  need  of  defi- 
nite sanitary  provisions  in  the  labor  code,  but  also  the  necessity 
of  constant  enforcement  and  supervision,  without  which  such  laws 
become  dead  letters. 


TABLE   No.  10. 

SHOPS  or  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  SELECTED  INDUSTRIES  ACCORDING  TO  LOCA- 
TION or  TOILETS. 


TOTAL 
No. 
SHOPS 

YARD 

HALL 

SHOP 

ELSE- 
WHERE 

No. 

W.  C. 

No 
REPORT 

d 

55 

4 

1 

d 

» 

*> 

I 

c 

X 

*i 

b 

£ 

6 
55 

1 

• 

I 

6 
Z 

1 

d 

X 

4 
1 

t 

Printing  

446 
157 
217 

156 

e 

2; 

34 
63 
19 

120 
244 
135 

228 

22 

38 
28 
131 
69 

11 

4 
43 

3 
0 
0 
0 

3 

2 

( 
0 
0 

( 
( 

i; 

2 
3 
20 

2 
0 
0 
0 

=: 

11 

1 

2 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 
8 
11 

94 
28 
22 

93 
0 
27 
9 
19 
0 

31 

28 
16 
3 

1 
6 

1 
56 
12 

23 
18 
10 

60 
0 
100 
27 
30 
0 

25 
12 

12 

1 

5 
0 
3 
42 

17 

308 
101 
112 

49 
2 
0 
25 
26 
7 

83 
182 
114 
223 

21 
21 
25 
62 
38 

72 
64 
52 

31 
40 
0 
0 
41 
37 

69 

75 
84 
98 

95 
0 
90 

48 
55 

8 
22 
37 

5 
0 
0 
73 
1 
9 

0 
6 
0 

0 

0 
2 

1 
0 
4 

2 
14 
17 

3 
0 
0 
0 

2 
47 

0 
2 
0 
0 

0 
0 
3 
0 
5 

5 
2 
3 

3 
3 
0 
0 
14 
1 

4 
4 
5 
2 

0 
7 
0 
2 
8 

1 

1 

1 

2 
60 
0 
0 
22 
5 

4 
2 
4 
1 

0 
0 
0 
2 
11 

0 
0 
0 

3 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
18 
0 
0 

0 
0 

1 
0 
0 

0 
0 
0 

2 
0 
0 
0 
0 
0 

0 
27 
0 
0 

0 
0 
3 
0 

0 

1 

Tobacco    

Chemicals  

Foodstuff*. 

Pickles    

Spices  and  drugs  
Mineral  waters  

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial  flowers  and 

Paper  boxes  

Clothing  (waists)  

Miscellaneous. 
Corks      

Rag  sorting  

Textiles  

Cleaning  and  dyeing. 
Total  

2.119 

95 

5 

446 

21 

U'J'J 

65 

95 

5 

62 

3 

22 

REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


139 


TABLE   No.   11. 


SHOPS  or  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  SELECTED  INDUSTRIES  ACCORDING  TO  GRADES 
OF  LIGHT  AND  VENTILATION  or  TOILET  APARTMENTS. 


TOTAL 
No. 
SHOPS 

GRADE 
A 

GRADE 
B 

GRADE 
C 

GRADE 
D 

No 
TOILETS 

No 
REPORT 

6 
fe 

Per  cent. 

6 

2 

Per  cent. 

6 

fc 

Per  cent. 

c 
Z 

•*> 

k 

m 

o 
•z 

Per  cent. 

d 

S5 

Per  cent. 

Pi  in  ting  

426 
157 
217 

156 

E 

27 
34 
63 
19 

120 
244 
135 

228 

22 
38 
28 
131 
69 

106 
24 
45 

24 
0 
5 
13 
2 
0 

5 
34 
76 
35 

20 
11 
16 

25 
15 
21 

15 
0 
19 
38 
3 
0 

4 
14 
56 
15 

91 

30 
56 

185 
46 
59 

81 
1 

12 
10 

7 
13 

56 
33 
25 
84 

2 
8 
8 

43 
30 
27 

52 
0 
44 
30 
11 
69 

47 
13 
19 
36 

9 
21 
30 

90 
37 
24 

29 
20 
8 
9 
16 
4 

28 
35 
19 
41 

0 
0 
3 

21 
23 
11 

19 
0 
30 
26 
26 
21 

23 
14 
14 

18 

0 
0 
11 

33 
33 
10 

16 
1 
2 
2 
21 
1 

27 
112 
10 
66 

0 

7 
0 

8 
21 
5 

10 
20 
7 
6 
33 
5 

22 
46 
7 
30 

0 
18 
0 

5 
2 
3 

0 
3 
0 
0 
14 
1 

4 
4 
5 
2 

0 

7 
0 

1 
1 
1 

0 
0 
0 
0 
22 
5 

3 
2 
4 

1 

0 

IS 
0 

7 
15 
76 

6 
60 
0 
0 
3 
0 

0 
26 
0 
0 

0 
5 
1 

2 

10 
35 

4 
0 
0 
0 
5 
0 

0 
11 
0 
0 

O 
13 
3 

Tobacco  

Foodtlvffs. 
Candy  

Ice  cream  

Pickles  

Spices  and  drugs 

Mineral  wateis  

Meat  packing  

Women's  Trade*. 
Artificial  flowers  and 
feathers  

Laundries  

Paper  boxes  

Clothiog  (waists)  

Miscellaneout. 
Corks  

Rftg  sorting     .  

Textiles  

Human  hair. 

Dyeing  and  cleaning.  . 
Total.  . 

14 

16 

15 

1 

8 

15 

12 

2,119 

430  |     20 

646 

34 

358 

16 

342 

16 

58 

2 

285 

140 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 


TABLE   No.  12. 

SHOPS  OF  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  SELECTED  INDUSTRIES   ACCORDING  TO  GRADES 

OF  CLEANLINESS  or  TOILETS 


TOTAL 
No. 
SHOPS 

GRADE 
A 

GRADE 
B 

GRADE 
C 

GRADE 
D 

No 
TOILETS 

No 

REPORT 

6 

25 

*i 
1 
1 

j 

*» 
1 

d 

K 

1 

6 

25 

*> 

& 

A 

1 

d 

25 

JL 

i 

12 
19 

'6 

Printing  ,        ,     ,  .  ,     , 

426 
157 
217 

156 
5 
27 
34 
63 
19 

120 
244 
135 
228 

22 
38 
28 
131 
69 

94 
17 
42 

15 
0 
5 
10 
0 
2 

7 
45 
59 
30 

5 
1 

-9 
20 

23 
11 
19 

10 
0 
10 
30 
0 
10 

6 
18 
44 
14 

23 
3 

0 
7 
29 

212 
50 
86 

52 
0 
14 
13 
9 
1 

58 
53 
20 
69 

10 
9 
13 
58 
15 

50 
31 
40 

33 
0 
50 
38 
15 
5 

48 
22 
15 
30 

45 
24 
46 
44 
22 

83 
47 
31 

61 
0 

7 
2 
19 
9 

28 
24 
29 
59 

7 
5 
11 
45 

7 

19 

30 
14 

40 
0 
26 
6 
30 
49 

23 
10 
22 
25 

32 
13 
40 
34 
11 

25 
23 
12 

24 
2 
1 
9 
19 
2 

23 
96 
22 
68 

6 
15 
6 

15 
40 
4 
26 
30 
10 

20 
40 
16 
30 

5 
2 
3 

3 
3 

1 

1 

2 
60 

7 
18 
43 

1 
0 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Foodstuffs. 
Candy  

Ice  cream  

Pickles  

Spices  and  drugs  

Mineral  waters  

14 

1 

4 
4 
5 
2 

22 
5 

3 
1 
3 

1 

2 

4 

0 
22 
0 
0 

3 
21 

0 
9 
0 
0 

Meat  packing  

Women's  Trades. 
Artificial  flowers  and 
feathers  

T*ftUn<1rV*»,  ,  . 

Paper  boxes  

Clothing  (waists).    . 

Miscellaneous. 
Corks  

Rag  sorting  

11 
3 

17 

4 

M 

11 
13 
5 

7 
0 
•2 
8 

19 
0 
2 
11 

5 
1 

13 
3 

Textiles  

Hu"»fu»  hair.  ........ 

Dyeing  and  cleaning.  . 
Total  

15 

22 

2.119 

361 

16 

742 

35 

474 

24 

361 

16 

83 

3 

118 

5 

7.  BAKERIES: 

The  manufacture  of  food-stuffs  is  of  the  greatest  importance 
to  the  health  not  only  of  the  workers  in  the  establishments  where 
such  manufacture  is  carried  on,  but  also  to  the  general  consuming 
public.  For  some  reason  or  other,  there  seems  to  be  much  less 
care  taken  in  the  sanitation  of  places  where  food  is  manufactured 
than  in  any  other  branch  of  industry. 

In  New  York  City  our  investigation  has  shown  that  many  food 
manufacturing  trades  such  as  candy,  ice  cream,  smoked  meats, 
and  sausages,  and  especially  bread,  are  almost  exclusively  carried 
on  in  low  cellars  of  tenement  houses  under  working  conditions 
which  defy  all  description. 

The  full  report  of  the  bakery  inspection  presented  to  the  Com- 
mission (with  photographs  and  detailed  descriptions)  shows  the 
horrible  conditions  under  which  the  "  staff  of  life  "  is  manufac- 
tured in  this  city,  and  the  necessity  of  seriously  considering  an 
effective  remedy  for  this  great  eviL 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  141 

This  thorough  inspection  of  nearly  500  cellar  bakeries  and.  the 
testimony  which  was  given  at  the  hearing  by  many  disinterested 
and  competent  persons,  have  shown  beyond  a  doubt  that  something 
radical  must  be  done  if  we  are  to  prevent  "  our  daily  bread  "  from 
becoming  a  menace  to  the  health  of  the  workers,  a  peril  to  the 
safety  of  the  buildings,  and  a  disgusting  product  to  the  consum- 
ing public. 

The  time  is  ripe  for  a  total  abolition  of  cellar  bakeries.  There 
is  no  valid  reason  for,  and  all  sanitary  reasons  against,  such  a  loca- 
tion for  the  manufacture  of  this  most  important  article  of  food. 

Wihile  there  may  be  some  objections  to  a  sudden  total  abo- 
lition of  all  existing  cellar  bakeries,  there  can  be  little  objection 
to  their  control  and  strict  supervision  by  the  State  and  Muni- 
cipal authorities.  Such  a  supervision  and  control  are  possible  only 
with  a  system  of  certification  or  licensing,  similar  to  that  in  the 
milk  and  dairy  industry. 

8.  THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  WORKERS  : 

The  normal  pursuit  of  ordinary  occupations  under  normal  con- 
ditions is  not  fraught  with  danger  to  the  health  or  the  life  of  the 
workers ;  indeed,  it  is  rather  conducive  to  better  health  and  longer 
life.  It  is  only  when  work  is  carried  on  under  abnormal  condi- 
tions with  relation  to  duration,  speed,  tension,  character  of  work- 
place, degree  of  light  and  illumination,  purity  of  air,  and  ordi- 
nary sanitary  care,  that  work  begins  to  be  harmful  to  the  worker, 
and  may  seriously  affect  his  health  and  shorten  his  life. 

A  great  many  of  our  industries  are  at  present  carried  on  under 
such  abnormal  conditions  that  they  unduly  increase  the  morbidity 
and  mortality  rate  of  the  workers. 

The  unsanitary  conditions  under  which  the  bakers  are  employed 
in  the  cellar  bakeries  in  New  York  City  has  led  us  to  make  a 
physical  examination  of  800  bakers,  to  determine,  if  possible, 
the  effect  of  the  unsanitary  conditions  and  occupation  upon  their 
health.  This  examination  has  been  made  by  a  staff  of  competent 
physicians  during  the  bakers'  working  hours  and  at  their  place 
of  work.  The  examination  has  been  greatly  assisted  by  the  Bak- 
ers' Union,  which  sent  representatives  to  each  shop,  advising  their 


142  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

members  to  submit  to  such  au  examination.  The  result  of  this 
examination  is  described  in  full  in  the  special  report  on  bakers 
and  bakeries.  Here,  it  is  sufficient  to  note  the  fact  that  we  have 
found  an  abnormally  large  percentage  of  diseases  among  this  class 
of  workers,  diseases  which  endanger  the  health  and  well-being  of 
the  workers  themselves,  and  are  also  dangerous  because  of  the  pos- 
sible infection  of  the  manufactured  food-stuffs. 

At  the  request  of  the  Furriers'  Union,  a  preliminary  physical 
examination  of  eighty-five  furriers  has  also  been  made. 

There  is  undoubtedly  a  great  desire  among  the  members  of 
organized  Labor  Unions  to  undergo  such  physical  examinations, 
and  the  evidence  given  in  the  public  hearings  has  also  shown  that 
many  of  the  large  employers  favor  such  a  physical  examination. 

9.  DANGEROUS  TRADES: 

A  large  number  of  industries  deal  with  harmful  or  poisonous 
materials,  which  are  liable  to  endanger  the  health  and  lives  of 
their  workers.  These  dangerous  elements  may  be  roughly  classi- 
fied into  five  groups,  as  follows : 

Dangerous  Elements: 

1.  Dusts:   Mineral,  Metal,  Vegetable,  Animal. 

2.  Poisons:  Lead,  Arsenic,  Phosphorous,  Mercury,  Brass,  Zinc, 

etc. 

3.  Gases  and  Fumes. 

4.  Infected  Materials ;  Rags,  Skins,  etc. 

5.  Dangerous  and  Unguarded  Machinery. 

The  number  of  trades  in  which  one  or  more  of  the  above-named 
dangerous  elements  are  found  is  very  large;  lead  poisoning  alone 
being  incident  to  about  138  distinct  trades.  The  effect  of  these 
elements  upon  the  health  of  the  workers  are  sometimes  immediate 
and  more  often  insidious,  but  nearly  always  harmful,  and  at  times 
deadly. 

There  is  as  yet  no  sufficient  data  as  to  the  exact  number  of  per- 
sons suffering  from  diseases  directly  caused  by  each  of  these  ele- 


REPORT  OF  DIEECTOE  OF  INVESTIGATION.  143 

merits,  nor  is  there  in  this  country  sufficient  proof  of  the  exis- 
tence of  the  specific  occupational  diseases  incident  to  certain 
trades.  The  only  legislative  commission  that  has  ever  studied  this 
subject  in  this  country  is  the  Illinois  Occupational  Disease  Com- 
mission of  1907-8,  and  there  are  some  additional  studies  just  com- 
pleted and  printed  by  the  United  States  Department  of  Commerce 
and  Labor  in  Bulletin  No.  95. 

Dangerous  as  are  many  of  these  industries,  many  of  the  risks 
are  undoubtedly  preventable  and  much  of  the  misery  caused  by 
them  is  entirely  avoidable.  In  many  industries  a  non-toxic 
ingredient  may  be  substituted  for  a  poison  as  in  the  match  and 
mirror  industries.  In  others  an  efficient  system  of  mechanical 
ventilation  would  eliminate  most  of  the  dangers ;  while  in  others  a 
proper  education  of  the  workers  in  the  dangers  of  their  trade  is 
needed. 

The  extent  of  mercury  poisoning  in  New  York  City  has  been 
lately  studied  by  Mrs.  Lindon  W.  Bates  of  the  National  Civic 
Federation,  who  reported  on  over  a  hundred  cases  of  mercurial 
poison  occurring  among  hatters  and  felt-makers. 

In  the  United  States  Department  of  Labor  and  Commerce  Bul- 
letin No.  95,  just  issued,  Dr.  John  B.  Andrews  gives  a  short 
account  of  a  study  of  lead  poisoning  cases  in  New  York  State. 
During  1909  and  1910  there  were  found  sixty  cases  of  death  from 
lead  poison. 

A  beginning  has  been  made  under  the  auspices  of  this  Commis- 
sion in  investigating  a  number  of  cases  of  lead  poisoning  and 
inspecting  a  number  of  lead  manufacturing  establishments  in  this 
city.  This  investigation  has  been  voluntarily  conducted  by  Dr. 
E.  E.  Pratt  of  the  New  York  School  of  Philanthropy,  who  with 
a  staff  of  pupils  has  made  a  thorough  inspection  of  fifty  factories, 
and  has  traced  from  hospital  records,  etc.,  a  large  number  of  cases 
of  lead  poisoning.  A  special  report  on  100  cases  of  lead  poison- 
ing by  Dr.  E.  E.  Pratt  is  herewith  presented  to  the  Commission. 

10.  INDUSTRIAL  HYGIENE  : 

The  existence  of  many  specific  poisons  and  dangers  to  the  health 
of  workers  in  various  industries,  the  incidence  of  occupational  dis- 


144  REPOET  OF  DIBECTOB  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

eases  in  many  trades,  the  effect  of  certain  processes  upon  the 
physique  of  the  workers,  render  it  necessary  to  continue  and  pur- 
sue special  investigations  into  industrial  conditions.  This  must 
be  done  in  order  to  study  the  effects  of  the  occupation  upon  the 
health  of  the  workers,  to  establish  standards  for  each  industry,  to 
prepare  rules  and.  regulations,  and  to  recommend  preventive  meas- 
ures for  their  elimination. 

Such  a  continued  and  intensive  study  can  best  be  carried  on 
by  a  special  bureau,  attached  to  the  Labor  Department,  with 
trained  specialists  on  industrial  hygiene,  and  with  power  to  rec- 
ommend special  rules  for  each  particular  trade  and  establishment. 

All  these  functions  with  the  addition  of  the  supervision  of  the 
technical  details  of  industrial  hygiene,  such  as  the  matter  of 
proper  safeguarding  of  dangerous  machinery,  the  installation  of 
special  mechanical  ventilation  plants,  the  supervision  of  light  and 
illumination,  the  chemical  analysis  of  air,  chemicals,  dyes,  etc., 
should  be  concentrated  in  a  separate  bureau  in  the  Labor  Depart- 
ment with  a  staff  of  specialists  in'  each  branch  and  with 
ample  provisions  for  laboratories,  clinics,  and  research,  as  well 
as  for  educational  activities  among  employers  and  workers  alike. 

11.  WOMEN'S  WOBK: 

In  the  course  of  our  investigation,  certain  trades  where  many 
women  workers  are  employed  have  been  investigated  as  to  their 
sanitary  conditions,  and  a  special  report  on  these  trades  is  here- 
with presented  to  the  Commission.  The  evidence  presented  in 
this  report,  as  well  as  the  testimony  given  in  the  public  hearings, 
undoubtedly  created  a  strong  impression  that  there  is  not  sufficient 
protection  in  our  industries  for  women  workers,  and  that  they 
unquestionaibly  suffer  more  from  certain  bad  sanitary  conditions 
than  the  male  workers. 

The  number  of  industries  which  are  especially  dangerous  to 
women  is  large,  and  the  subject  of  further  restriction  of  the  trades 
in  which  women  may  be  employed  deserves  serious  study  and 
attention. 

There  is  also  need  of  a  further  study  for  the  purpose  of  further 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor  of  women  in  ati  trades,  and  with  a 


REPOKT  OF  DIKECTOE  OF  INVESTIGATION.  145 

possible  establishment  of  a  minimum  wage  for  women  workers, 
as  the  only  means  to  preserve  their  health  and  prevent  them  from 
sinking  down  under  the  burdens  of  industrial  life. 

12.  CHILD  LABOR: 

During  our  investigation,  we  have  found  many  instances  of 
the  employment  of  extremely  young  children  in  factories. 
Our  impression  is  that  the  extent  of  the  employment  of 
children  under  fourteen  years  of  age  is  larger  than  it  is  thought 
to  be,  and  that  the  present  system  of  certification  of  child  workers 
fourteen  and  sixteen  years  of  age  is  inadequate  and  unsatisfac- 
tory. Many  abuses  have  distinctly  been  observed  in  the  methods 
of  granting  certificates,  and  the  lack  of  a  thorough  medical 
physical  examination  of  minor  workers  has  been  shown  to  be 
dangerous  in  fostering  the  employment  of  children  too  young  to 
be  given  up  to  the  risks  and  dangers  of  factory  work. 

The  absolute  need  of  a  system  of  physical  examination  of  chil- 
dren, and  indeed,  of  all  workers,  before  and  after  entering  employ- 
ment has  been  fully  shown. 

13.  HOME  WORK: 

A  special  investigation  has  been  made  under  the  auspices  of 
this  Commission,  by  a  volunteer  staff  under  the  direction  of  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee,  upon  the  extent  of  child  and 
home  work,  especially  in  the  tenement  houses.  A  special  report 
on  this  subject  is  herewith  presented  to  the  Commission.  Here 
it  is  sufficient  to  give  a  summary  of  their  report : 

1.  The  present  system  of  licensing  tenement  houses  leads  to 

many  abuses  and  does  not  fulfill  the  expectations  of  the 
framers  of  the  law. 

2.  The  extent  of  the  work  carried  on  in  unlicensed  tenement 

houses  is  very  great. 

3.  The  number  of  industries  which  are  carried  on  in  homes 

and  by  small  children  is  very  large. 

4.  It  is  hardly  possible  to  entirely  eliminate  child  labor  without 

complete  abolition  of  tenement  house  work. 


146  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

14.  EDUCATION  : 

Many  of  the  evils  discovered  in  our  investigation  may  directly 
be  traced  to  the  lack  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  employers  of  the 
proper  construction  and  arrangement  of  factories  and  workshops, 
and  to  their  ignorance  of  the  first  principles  of  sanitation  and 
proper  care  for  the  health  and  well-being  of  their  workers. 

The  government  appropriates  yearly  vast  sums  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  farmers  and  other  producing  classes  of  the  nation  — 
for  the  purpose  of  teaching  them  how  disease  of  cattle  can  be  cured 
and  how  the  health  of  valuable  animals  can  be  preserved,  and 
cholera  among  chickens  prevented.  There  is,  however,  absolutely 
no  provision  made  by  the  government  for  the  similar  instruction 
of  employers  to  whose  care  hundreds  of  thousands  of  human 
beings  are  entrusted,  nor  for  any  supervision  of  the  conditions 
which  the  employing  classes  impose  upon  their  workmen. 

The  ignorance  which  is  so  frequently  found  among  the  work- 
ing class  itself  is  even  more  dangerous  to  their  health.  There  is 
at  present  among  the  workers  dense  ignorance  of  the  risks  of  their 
trades  and  the  dangers  of  their  occupations.  Many  of  the  diseases 
from  which  workmen  suffer  in  certain  trades  are  directly  due  to 
their  lack  of  knowledge  of  means  of  preserving  their  health,  and 
of  their  neglect  in  taking  ordinary  precautions  to  guard  against 
certain  dangers  which  are  easily  preventable,  once  they  are  known. 

The  younger  element  among  the  workers  is  composed  of  chil- 
dren who  leave  school  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  who  are  entirely 
unprepared  for  the  struggle  for  existence,  who  are  entirely  igno- 
rant of  the  first  principles  of  self-preservation,  and  who,  therefore, 
readily  fall  victims  to  the  dangers  lurking  in  so  many  industries. 

This  lack  of  education  in  employers  and  employees  is  a  serious 
menace  in  industrial  life,  and  is  one  of  the  principal  causes  of 
suffering  in  almost  all  occupations. 


The  preliminary  report  touches  upon  subjects  which  will  be 
discussed  more  fully  in  the  final  report. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  147 

III.     RECOMMENDATIONS : 

(1)  Registration: 

The  owner  of  every  factory  shall  be  required  to  register  at 
the  Labor  Department  within  a  specified  time,  giving  such  data 
as  the  Labor  Commissioner  may  require. 

(2)  Licensing: 

Every  place  where  food  products  are  manufactured  for 
public  consumption  (except  restaurants  and  hotels)  shall  be 
required  to  apply  for  a  license  from  the  Health  Department  of 
the  city  where  such  place  is  located;  said  license  shall  be  issued 
only  when  all  the  requirements  of  said  Health  Department  are 
fully  complied  with;  said  license  shall  be  revocable  for  cause  and 
be  annually  renewed  upon  inspection. 

(3)  Standards  to  be  established: 

The  Department  of  Labor  shall  be  empowered  to  establish  from 
time  to  time  standards  of  light,  heat,  and  ventilation  to  be  enforced 
in  factories  for  the  protection  of  the  workers;  every  factory 
in  which  dusts,  gases,  poisons,  or  fumes  are  produced  in  excess  of 
the  minimum  allowed,  or  where  materials  likely  to  convey  infec- 
tion are  used,  shall  be  required  to  secure  a  permit  from  the 
Department  of  Labor,  and  shall  be  under  the  continuous  super- 
vision of  said  Department;  compliance  with  the  standards  estab- 
lished by  the  Department  shall  be  required  before  a  permit  is 
issued  to  such  factory. 

(4)  Physical  Examination  of  Workers: 

The  owner  of  every  place  where  food  products  are  manu- 
factured for  public  consumption  (except  restaurants  and  hotels) 
shall  demand  and  receive  from  each  applicant  for  work  before 
employing  same,  a  certificate  of  good  health  signed  by  a  regularly 
licensed  physician,  to  the  effect  that  said  person  is  free  from  infec- 
tious disease  and  that  he  is  in  physical  condition  to  do  the  work 
in  said  establishment. 


148  REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION. 

(5)  Medical  Supervision  in  Dangerous  Trades: 

The  owner  of  every  factory  in  which  certain  specified 
poisons,  gases,  fumes  or  dusts  are  produced,  or  in  which  materials 
likely  to  carry  infection  are  used,  shall  be  required  to  employ  a 
physician  or  physicians  to  examine  all  workers  before  entering  their 
employment,  and  to  make  a  periodical  examination  at  least  once  a 
month  of  all  employees,  in  order  to  determine  whether  their  health 
is  affected  by  the  dangerous  elements  in  the  trade.  Such  physicians 
shall  keep  an  individual  record  of  every  employee  in  said  estab- 
lishment. Such  physicians  shall  be  under  the  general  supervision 
of  the  Labor  Department  and  under  the  rules  and  regulations  set 
by  said  Department  for  the  medical  supervision  of  the  trade. 

(6)  Ventilation: 

(a)  Four  hundred  cubic  feet  of  space,  exclusive  of  furniture, 
machinery,  or  goods,  shall  be  required  in  every  factory  for  each 
adult  worker. 

(b)  Forty  square  feet  of  floor  space,  exclusive  of  bulky  furni- 
ture, machinery,  or  goods,  shall  be  required  for  every  worker  in 
every  factory. 

(c)  Nine  parts  of  carbon  dioxide,  in  ten  thousand  volumes 
of  air,  in  excess  of  the  number  of  parts  of  carbon  dioxide  in  ten 
thousand  volumes  of  the  exterior  air  shall  be  the  maximum  per- 
missible amount  in  each  and  every  workshop  or  factory,  and  fif- 
teen parts  of  CO2  in  ten  thousand  volumes  of  air,  in  excess  of  the 
exterior  air  shall  be  the  maximum  permissible  in  every  workroom 
where  artificial  light  is  needed. 

(d)  The  lowest  temperature  allowed  in  a  workroom  of  a  factory 
shall  be  55  degrees  Fahr.   and  the  maximum  shall  not  exceed 
72  degrees  Fahr.   as  determined  by  the  wet  bulb  thermometer, 
unless  the  temperature  of  the  exterior  air  exceeds  70  degrees  Fahr. 
as  determined  by  the  same  process,  in  which  case  the  wet  bulb 
temperature  of  the   workroom  shall  not  exceed   that   of  the   ex- 
terior air  by  more  than  5  degrees. 


REPORT  OF  DIRECTOR  OF  INVESTIGATION.  149 

(e)  Several  dry  and  wet  bulb  recording  thermometers  shall  be 
installed  and  properly  maintained  in  all  factories,  as  may  be 
required  by  the  Department  of  Labor. 

(7)  Dressing  Rooms: 

(a)  In  all  factories  where  more  than   10  women   are  em- 
ployed, a  separate  dressing  room,  having  a  floor  space  of  at  least 
60  square  feet,  shall  be  provided  on  each  floor  where  such  women 
are  employed.     Said  dressing  room  shall  have  at  least  one  win- 
dow, at  least  15  square  feet  in  area,  to  the  outer  air,  and  shall 
be  adequately  lighted  and  ventilated,  and  shall  be  provided  with 
suitable   hangers   for   clothes,    and    shall    be    separate    from    any 
water-closet  apartment. 

(b)  In  all   establishments  where  food   products    are  manu- 
factured   for    public    consumption,    and    in    all    establishments 
where  dusts,  gases,  poisons,  fumes  or  material  likely  to  convey 
infection  are  produced,  special  clothes,  consisting  of  overalls,  caps 
and  gloves,  shall    be    provided    free    for    every  employee;  such 
clothes  shall  be  washed  at  the  expense  of  the  owner  at  least  twice 
every  week;  and  every  employee  compelled  to  wear  same  at  all 
times  during  such  work. 

(8)  Washing  Facilities: 

(a)  General.     Section  No.  88  of  Labor  Code  prevails. 

(b)  In   all  establishments   where  food  products   are   manu- 
factured   for    public    consumption,    and    in    all    establishments 
where  dust,  gases,  poisons,  fumes,  or  material  likely  to  convey 
infection  are  produced,  there  shall  be  provided  ample  washing 
facilities,  including  hot  water  and  individual  towels. 

(9)  Lunch: 

In  all  establishments  where  food  products1  are  manufac- 
tured for  public  consumption,  and  in  all  establishments  where 
diist,  gases,  poisons,  fumes,  or  material  likely  to  convey  infection 
exist,  separate  places  for  eating  lunch  shall  be  provided,  as  may  be 
required  by  the  Labor  Department. 


APPENDIX     II 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD 

H.  F.  J.  PORTER,  M.  E. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD 

HON.  ROBERT  F.  WAGNER,  Chairman  N.  Y.  State  Factory  Inves- 
tigating Commission,  New  York,  N.  Y.: 

DEAR  SIR: 

The  Origin  of  the  Commission: 

Your  Commission  came  into  existence  last  summer,  primarily 
owing  to  representations  made  to  the  Governor  and  the  Legislature 
by  a  delegation  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  Association,  to  the  effect  that 
the  factory  buildings  of  New  York  City  are  so  defective  in  design 
with  regard  to  exit  facilities,  that  their  occupants  are  continuously 
exposed  to  the  danger  of  a  repetition  of  the  Asch  building  disaster. 
In  fact  it  was  stated  at  the  hearing  before  the  Governor  that  in 
case  of  fire  these  people  would  have  only  the  alternatives  of  jump- 
ing or  burning  to  death.  It  was  also  stated  that  they  would  not 
even  have  to  wait  for  a  fire  to  expose  them  to  danger,  due  to  the 
defects  mentioned,  for  a  panic,  which  might  be  brought  about  by 
other  sources  than  fire,  could  also  cause  serious  injury  and  even 
death,  as  was  made  evident  in  the  loft  building  at  548  Broadway 
on  May  5th  last,  when  the  occupants  of  one  of  the  floors,  becoming 
frightened  by  a  cry  of  alarm,  rushed  to  the  narrow  wooden  stair- 
way and  crowded  it  until  it  burst,  and  precipitated  its  contents 
upon  the  landing  below,  killing  two  girls  and  injuring  many  others 
so  seriously  as  to  necessitate  their  removal  to  the  hospital. 

My  Association  with  Its  Origin: 

I  have  been  engaged  in  work  in  the  factory  buildings  of  New 
York  and  other  cities  for  many  years,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Asch 
building  fire  had  been  employed  by  the  Fifth  Avenue  Association 
to  solve  certain  problems  in  which  the  loft  buildings  in  its  sec- 
tion were  involved.  It  was  in  connection  with  my  efforts  after 
the  above-mentioned  disaster,  to  institute  fire  drills  in  these  loft 
buildings  in  order  to  facilitate  the  escape  of  their  occupants  in 
case  of  fire,  that  I  discovered  that  it  was  impossible  to  develop  a 
fire  drill  that  would  empty  such  buildings  under  emergency  con- 


154  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

ditions,  and  that  this  was  due,  not  to  incapacity  on  my  part,  nor  to 
weakness  in  the  fire  drill  per  se,  but  to  inherent  defects  in  the 
design  of  the  buildings,  due  to  the  failure  of  architects  and  build- 
ers generally  to  realize  that  the  capacity  of  a  stairway  is  limited, 
and  that  a  multi-storied  building,  intended  to  be  occupied  by  large 
numbers  of  people  on  each  floor,  must  be  supplied  with  special 
means  of  meeting  the  exigencies  of  a  rapid  egress  from  it. 

Its  Special  Work: 

The  Commission  was  appointed  to  investigate  and  recommend 
relief  for  the  very  serious  and  pressing  situation  which,  as  I  have 
shown,  was  thus  brought  to  light.  This  is  its  work,  as  I  under- 
stand it,  and  if  it  will  accomplish  this  result  alone  it  will  have 
performed  a  vitally  effective  service.  In  the  working  out  of  a 
recommendation  in  this  direction,  to  the  Legislature,  you  have 
asked  me  to  act  in  an  advisory  capacity. 

Its  Allied  Work-- 
in establishing  the  Commission  and  endowing  it  with  its  func- 
tions, the  Legislature  thought  it  wise  to  authorize  it,  in  addition 
to  the  above  requirement,  to  investigate  the  sanitary  conditions  as 
they  exist  in  the  factory  buildings  of  the  State.  There  are  many 
individuals,  as  well  as  the  State  and  municipal  organizations,  at 
work  in  this  latter  field,  and  although  it  is  thus  fairly  well  covered, 
undoubtedly  the  Commission  will  find  that  it  and  they  can  be 
mutually  helpful  in  recommending  legislation  which  will  alleviate 
the  wretchedness  that  exists  in  factories  of  a  certain  type  in  every 
industry.  This  latter  line  of  investigation  you  have  assigned  to 
Dr.  Geo.  M.  Price,  and  although  he  and  I  have  conferred  and 
worked  together  in  a  mutual  endeavor  to  facilitate  the  work  of  the 
Commission  in  every  way  possible,  we  shall  keep  our  assignments 
distinct  and  separate  in  our  respective  reports,  —  I  confining 
myself  to  the  building  problems,  Dr.  Price  to  working  conditions. 

Preliminary  Experiences: 

In  order  that  the  Commission  may  have  all  the  facts  bearing 
upon  the  fire  situation,  it  may  be  well  to  lay  before  it  my  experi- 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  155 

ences  in  the  field,  which  enabled  rne  to  interest  the  delegation 
above  referred  to  sufficiently  to  cause  it  to  go  to  Albany  to  ask  for 
an  investigation.  These  experiences,  beginning  several  years  ago 
and  maintained  up  to  the  time  of  this  investigation,  are  as  import- 
ant as  those  which  I  have  had  since  I  have  been  connected  with 
the  Commission,  for  the  latter  have  simply  been  in  continuity  with 
the  former. 

A  Typical  Factory: 

When,  in  1904,  I  took  charge  as  Vice-President  of  the  Nernst 
Lamp  Company,  a  Westinghouse  interest  in  Pittsburgh,  Pa.,  I 
found  its  factory  to  be  an  old  building  of  brick,  with  so-called 
interior  mill  construction.  It  possessed  only  one  stairway  and 
housed  on  its  five  floors  somewhere  between  200  and  300  people, 
mostly  women.  As  the  building  in  itself  was  full  of  inflam- 
mable material,  and  as  it  was  surrounded  by  rolling  mills  and  fur- 
niture storage  warehouses,  it  was  considered  a  very  hazardous  fire 
risk,  and  insurance  rates  upon  it  were  proportionately  high.  Keal- 
izing  my  responsibility  for  the  safety  of  the  employees,  T  set  about 
studying  how  they  could  escape  from  the  building  in  case  of  fire. 

My  Efforts  to  Effect  Escape  from  Fire: 

Not  being  able  to  determine  to  my  own  satisfaction  how  escape 
under  certain  circumstances  could  be  effected,  1  appealed  to  the 
Chief  of  the  Fire  Department,  who,  after  studying  the  conditions, 
agreed  with  me  that  the  building  was  a  fire  trap,  that  he  could 
offer  no  recommendations  except  more  and  better  fire-escapes,  tke 
introduction  of  precautionary  measures  against  fire,  methods  of 
prompt  extinguishment  in  case  of  its  occurrencce,  and  means  of 
retarding  its  spread  until  the  arrival  of  the  Fire  Department,  in 
case  it  should  get  beyond  the  control  of  those  in  the  building  who 
were  designated  to  fight  it. 

The  Province  of  the  Fire  Department  is  Primarily  to  Fight  Fire, 
Not  to  Save  Life: 

Not  being  satisfied,  however,  that  even  with  the  preventive 
measures  introduced,  the  occupants  of  the  building  would  be  safe 
from  the  possibility  of  a  fire  gaining  headway  bevond  the  fighting 


156  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

ability  of  those  assigned  to  its  extinguishment,  and  realizing  that 
there  still  existed  the  possibility  of  accident  from  panics,  which 
often  cause  more  injury  than  the  fire  itself,  I  appealed  to  the  man- 
agers of  the  most  representative  and  progressive  manufacturing 
establishments  about  the  country,  to  learn  what  methods  they  had 
adopted  to  meet  the  dangerous  conditions  which  I  realized  existed 
in  every  factory  where  large  numbers  of  people  were  housed  on 
each  floor.  Much  to  my  surprise  and  disappointment,  I  could  not 
find  a  single  concern  which  had  developed  a  scheme  of  rapid  dis- 
missal of  its  people  from  its  building,  similar  to  the  fire  drills  of 
the  public  schools.  I  then  sought  the  assistance  of  a  drill  master 
from  the  local  Board  of  Education. 

The  School  Fire  Drill  Inapplicable: 

This  man,  although  an  old  hand  in  the  work  of  installing  fire 
drills  in  school  buildings,  after  several  attempts  to  introduce  a 
similar  drill  in  our  factory,  was  forced  to  concede  that  the  build- 
ing was  so  different  from  those  to  which  he  was  accustomed,  and 
the  people  so  much  older  and  less  subservient  to  discipline,  that  he 
was  unable  to  develop  a  fire  drill  which  he  felt  would  operate  in  an 
emergency. 

The  Crux  of  the  Problem  a  Defective  Building: 

Driven  back  upon  my  own  resources,  I  proceeded  to  work  out  a 
solution  of  the  problem  myself.  I  then  found  that  in  order  to 
effect  a  safe,  rapid  egress  of  the  occupants  from  the  building,  what 
amounted  to  practically  a  separate  stairway  from  each  floor  had 
to  be  developed.  When  this  was  accomplished,  we  installed  a  fire 
drill  without  difficulty,  which  emptied  the  building  in  three 
minutes. 

The  First  Factory  Fire  Drill: 

This  fire  drill,  actually  taking  the  employees  out  of  the  building, 
was  the  first,  as  far  as  I  know,  that  had  been  introduced  into  a 
factory.  Naturally  it  created  considerable  comment.  News- 
paper and  magazine  articles  described  it,  and  many  factory  man- 
agers from  all  over  the  country  wrote  to  me  about  it  and  visited  me 
to  see  it. 


•I   0 


A  COUNTER-BALANCED  DROP  LADDER. 

There  are  thousands  of  fire  escapes  which  depend  upon  a  "  drop  ladder  "  for  the 
connection  between  the  lowest  balcony  of  the  fire  escape  and  the  ground.  Many  of 
these  ladders  are  hung  out  of  reach  or  are  taken  away  altogether.  Almost  all  are  too 
heavy  to  be  handled  in  an  emergency. 

By  counter-balancing  them,  using  a  chain,  over  a  pulley  on  a  brass  shaft,  to 
prevent  rusting,  the  ladder  can  be  kef)t  in  place  and  a  child  can  lower  it. 


A  COMPARISON  OF  THE  CAPACITY  or  '. 

A     A  straight  ladder  fire  escape,  capacity  2  per  floor.  C     Straight  i 

B     Inclined  ladder  fire  escape,  capacity  4  per  floor.  D     Mezzanii 

When  more  than  these  numbers  try  to  crowd  in  they  f 


'BRENT  TYPES  OF  FIRE  ESCAPES. 

w&y,  22  in.  wide,  capacity  12  per  floor. 

atfonn  stairs,  44  inches  wide,  with  cantilever  steps  to  ground,  capacity  24  per  floor. 

a  jam  and  stop  the  flow  downward  altogether. 


a 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  157 

All  Factories  Deficient  in  Stairway  Facilities: 

As  all  the  people  who  tried  to  introduce  similar  fire  drills  into 
their  factories  experienced  the  same  difficulties  as  I  had,  many 
of  them  invited  me  to  assist  tfoem  in  the  installations.  It  was  in 
this  work  that  I  began  to  realize  that  buildings  occupied  by  many 
people  on  each  floor  are  universally  deficient  in  stairways.  This 
condition  has  come  about  by  the  gradual  growth  of  industry. 
Small  factories  had  increased  the  number  of  their  employees  and 
added  extensions  to  their  buildings  to  accommodate  tnem,  but  pro- 
vided no  additional  stairways. 

Architects  and  builders  had  blindly  followed  precedent,  without 
taking  cognizance  of  ample  and  frequent  demonstrations  of  the 
weakness  of  their  designs.  Where  fires  had  occurred  and  people 
had  been  burned  up  or  had  jumped  from  windows,  the  exit  facili- 
ties had  been  augmented  by  the  addition  of  outside  fire-escapes, 
often  merely  ropes  or  ladders  of  the  most  elementary  nature.  The 
latter  were  simply  crude  make-shifts  to  supply  a  remedy  for  the 
deficiency  in  exit  facilities  which  was  felt  to  exist. 

Architects    and   Builders,    Instead   of    Eliminating    the    Cause, 
Worked  at  the  Effect: 

Architects  and  builders,  however,  instead  of  recognizing  this 
defect  in  their  building  design,  continued  to  blindly  follow  the 
lines  which  they  saw  developing.  They  still  designed  their  build- 
ings with  inadequate  interior  stairways  and  exit  facilities,  and 
then  proceeded  to  develop  this  outside  fire  escape  into  a  perma- 
nent feature.  The  contracted  space  in  which  many  of  these  fire- 
escapes  had  to  be  installed,  and  the  tendency  to  cut  the  latter  off 
some  distance  from  the  ground  to  prevent  their  being  used  for 
entrance  by  burglars,  made  their  value  as  an  exit  facility  ex- 
tremely low ;  and  yet  these  things  were  done  in  the  face  of  repeated 
instances  of  fires  burning  up  the  people  on  these  so-called  "  fire 
escapes,"  as  well  as  the  fire  escapes  themselves.  (See  Sketch  I.) 
So  that  it  was  evident  that  the  name  of  the  latter  was  a  misnomer, 
and  that  they  were,  on  the  contrary,  veritable  fire  traps.  (See 
Sketch  II.) 

Since  these  early  experiences  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  work 
of  my  profession  of  industrial  engineering,  developing  the  effi- 


158  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

ciency  of  working  organizations,  and  in  this  work  I  have  rarely 
found  a  factory  building  so  designed  as  to  provide  for  its  occu- 
pants a  safe  means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire. 

An  Actual  Test  is  Necessary  to  Prove  Efficacy: 

This  condition  of  affairs  has  come  about  from  the  failure  of 
architects  to  test  out  their  designs  to  see  if  they  actually  will  serve 
the  purpose  for  which  they  were  intended.  Never  having  been 
required  to  design  buildings  which  would  be  emptiable  in  a  speci- 
fied time,  their  buildings  are  unemptiable  under  emergency 
demands.  Had  they  tested  their  buildings  to  see  if  they  would 
rapidly  empty  themselves  in  an  emergency,  they  would  have  dis- 
covered, as  I  did  when  I  applied  such  a  test,  that  a  stair-well  has  a 
definite  and  very  limited  capacity.  It  is  simply  a  tube  to  which 
each  floor  is  connected,  and  when  these  floors  try  to  empty  their 
contents  simultaneously  into  it,  it  will  accommodate  only  a  definite 
number  of  people  from  each.  Should  any  more  try  to  crowd  in, 
they  jam  it  and  the  flow  downward  is  arrested.  (See  Sketch  III.) 
The  reason  for  this  jam  is  that  the  irregular  shaped  bodies  of  the 
people  interlock  and  the  friction  of  their  clothing  aids  the  wedging 
action  so  that  there  is  an  actual  arch  formed  across  the  stairs,  and 
the  greater  the  pressure  behind  it  the  tighter  it  holds.  (  See  Sketch 
IV.)  This  jamming  is  preventable  to  some  extent  by  having  no 
influx  of  people  to  a  stairwell  except  at  its  top.  I  have  been  able 
to  make  emptiable  many  factory  buildings  by  using  this  principle, 
and  giving  each  floor  its  own  individual  stair-well.  To  make 
such  a  building  safe,  however,  each  floor  should  have  two  stair- 
wells, and  they  should  be  as  far  apart  as  possible,  and  smokeproof , 
so  that  in  case  one  should  be  cut  off  by  a  fire,  the  other  would  be 
available. 

The  Limited  Capacity  of  a  Stair-Well: 

I  have  found,  for  instance,  in  the  investigation  which  I  have 
just  made  for  your  Commission,  that  the  average  loft  building, 
with  a  height  of  story  between  floor  and  ceiling  of  from  10  to  12 
feet,  has  a  stair-well  which  if  it  has  the  minimum  width  of  3 
feet  allowed  by  the  Building  Code,  will  accommodate  one  person 
per  foot  of  height  per  floor,  and  if  it  is  4  feet  wide,  just  double. 


A  stairway  '. 
to  44  inches  the 

If  there  are 
downward  move: 


SKETCH  E — STAIRWAY  CONGESTION 

A  stairway  12  feet  high  between  floor  and  ceiling,  3  feet  wide,  will  accommodate 
to  44  inches  the  capacity  is  doubled,  viz:  24  people  per  floor. 

If  there  are  more  people  per  floor  than  these  numbers  they  will  collide  on  the 
downward  movement  practically  ceases.  All  the  occupants  of  each  floor  beyond  th 
dowu  or  bum  up.  The  fire  wall  offers  a  middle  road  to  safety  by  a  horizontal  esca 


>eople  per  floor.     If  the  width  is  increased 

ings  and  congestion  will  occur  so  that  the 
>acity  of  the  stairways  in  case  of  fire,  jump 


ch  and  the  less  the  tendency  to  jan 
o  great  as  to  burst  the  rail ,  as  in  th< 


IV 


SKETCH  F — The  wider  the  stairs  the  flatter  the  arch  and  the  less  the  tendency  to  jam 
tightly.  Frequently  the  pressure  of  the  jam  becomes  so  great  as  to  burst  the  rail,  as  in  the 
case  referred  to  on  page  153. 


THE  FIRE  HAZAED.  159 

that  number.  It  will  not  be  safe,  then,  to  house  more  than  10 
to  12  persons  per  floor  in  one  case,  and  20  to  24  in  the  other, 
unless  more  stair-wells  are  installed,  or  unless  a  separate  stair-well 
is  installed  for  each  floor. 

Fire  Drills  Improperly  Operated  Are  Conducive  to  Inefficiency: 

In  the  prosecution  of  my  professional  work  I  have  had  occa- 
sion to  introduce  fire  drills  in  a  large  number  of  factories,  when- 
ever I  found  it  necessary  to  safeguard  the  employees,  and  have 
naturally  gained  considerable  experience  in  the  best  way  to  make 
such  installations,  so  as  not  to  cause  waste  of  time  and  energy, 
both  of  which  are  expensive  to  employer  and  employee,  and  I 
have  found  that  a  fire  drill  which  required  the  taking  of  people 
downstairs  should  be  performed  only  at  noon  and  quitting  time  at 
night,  and  that  the  factory  should  always  be  dismissed  that  way. 
In  this  way  no  time  is  wasted  and  the  employees  are  not  compelled 
to  climb  stairways  to  return  to  their  work  afterwards, 
which  is  very  exhausting  and  tends  to  reduce  their  efficiency  for 
a  very  appreciable  time.  Thus  the  people  get  to  know  the  various 
exits  and  the  avenues  leading  to  them.  But  the  essential  value 
of  the  introduction  of  a  fire  drill  lies  in  its  function  as  a  test  of 
the  adequacy  of  the  exit  facilities,  and  pointing  out  the  obstruc- 
tions in  the  way  of  reaching  the  exits  that  do  exist. 

First  Attempt  at  Legislation: 

So  impressed  did  I  become  with  the  necessity  for  such  a  test 
to  be  applied  to  all  buildings,  that  I  set  about  making  the  fire 
drill  compulsory  by  legislation.  The  first  attempt  in  this  direc- 
tion was  in  1905,  through  Mr.  Jacob  Erlich,  a  ladies'  gown  manu- 
facturer who  became  imbued  with  the  idea,  and  introduced  a  bill 
in  the  Legislature  at  Albany,  through  Assemblyman  James  C. 
Sheldon.  The  necessity  for  an  appropriation  for  additional  fac- 
tory inspectors  to  secure  its  enforcement  hampered  its  passage, 
and  it  never  emerged  from  the  committee  to  which  it  had  been 
referred.  The  factory  fire  drill  was  not  at  that  time  recognized 
as  a  necessity,  and  the  request  for  such  legislation  was  not  taken 
seriously. 


160  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

Second  Attempt: 

As  a  result  of  an  address  which  I  gave  on  the  subject  before  the 
annual  convention  of  the  New  York  City  Federation  of  Women's 
Clubs,  at  the  Hotel  Astor,  in  1908,  an  ordinance  was  introduced 
in  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  by  Alderman  Mitchell,  calling  for  a 
compulsory  fire  drill.  This  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Laws  and  Legislation  and  never  was  heard  from  afterwards. 

Third  Attempt: 

After  the  Asch  building  fire  a  resolution  to  the  same  effect  was 
made  by  Alderman  Drescher,  which  was  referred  to  the  same  com- 
mittee, and  died  there. 

Fourth  Attempt: 

The  Federation  of  Women's  Clubs,  discouraged  by  their  failure 
to  interest  the  Aldermen  in  the  subject,  proceeded  shortly  after  the 
Newark  fire  in  1910  to  introduce  in  the  State  Legislature,  through 
Senator  Thomas  Cullen  and  Assemblyman  Franklin  Brooks,  a 
bill  which  subsequently  passed  the  Assembly,  but  after  being  re- 
ferred to  the  Committee  on  Labor  in  the  Senate,  and  being  re- 
ported favorably,  it  was  not  acted  upon. 

Fifth  Attempt: 

This  lack  of  action  was  perhaps  due  in  part  to  the  introduction 
of  the  so-called  Herrick-McManus  bill,  drafted  after  the  Asch 
building  fire  in  1910,  by  a  number  of  civic  organizations,  of  some 
of  which  I  am  a  member,  which  also  called  for  fire  drills.  This  bill 
was  the  result  of  the  aroused  sentiment  of  the  community  in  favor 
of  factory  fire  drills,  due  in  part  to  the  publication  in  the  press 
the  day  after  this  fire  of  my  letter,  sent  some  time  before  to  the 
Triangle  Waist  Company,  urging  that  I  be  allowed  to  install  a 
fire  drill  in  their  factory.  Under  the  public  sentiment,  and 
pushed  by  the  civic  organizations  referred  to,  the  bill  passed  both 
houses  of  the  Legislature.  Although  it  was  the  only  relief  in 
sight,  the  Mayor  vetoed  it. 


SKETCH  G — A  BISECTIONAL  BUILDING. 

Floor  plan  of  typical  loft  building  showing  fire  wall  with  doorways.  The  fire  wall 
restricts  the  fire  to  one-half  the  building,  allowing  the  occupants  to  escape  horizontally  from 
the  fire  as  if  they  were  on  the  ground  floor. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  161 

Sixth  and  Seventh  Attempts  Successful  in  Other  States: 

Meanwhile  compulsory  fire  drill  bills  were  passed  in  both  New 
Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  the  former  through  the  initiative  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  with  whom  I  collaborated,  and  the 
second  through  the  Pennsylvania  Consumers'  League,  aided  by 
the  New  York  State  branch,  of  which  I  am  the  adviser  in  such 
matters. 

A  Fire  Drill  is  a  Rapid  Egress  Test  of  a  Building: 

As  I  developed  proficiency  in  installing  fire  drills  in  factories, 
however,  I  became  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
stair-wells,  from  the  fact  that  they  have  only  a  limited  capacity, 
making  them  liable  to  become  congested  and  jammed,  and  thus 
in  themselves  a  source  of  injury  to  their  users,  should  not  be  con- 
sidered as  a  means  of  rapid  egress  such  as  would  be  necessary  in 
case  of  a  fire.  We  have  evidence  frequently  presented  from 
which  this  conclusion  has  been  drawn,  as  for  instance,  the  panic 
in  the  loft  building,  548  Broadway,  previously  referred  to,  and 
another  in  a  second  story  moving  picture  theatre  at  Cannonsburg, 
Pa.,  on  May  5th  last,  where  a  flash  in  the  film  box  started  a  rush 
for  the  short  stairs,  which,  although  they  afforded  a  perfectly 
clear  run  to  the  street,  became  jammed,  and  26  were  killed,  25 
seriously  injured,  and  30  suffered  from  minor  hurts. 

The  Fire  Wall  a  Safe  Fire  Escape: 

In  casting  about  for  some  other  method  of  escape  from  fire  I 
have  pressed  into  service  the  most  natural  and  available  means 
at  my  disposal,  viz:  a  wall  of  substantial  and  fireproof  construc- 
tion, extending  from  cellar  to  roof,  with  doorways  in  it  on  each 
floor.  In  case  of  a  fire  on  one  side  of  this  wall,  the  people  on  that 
side  simply  pass  through  the  doorways,  close  the  fireproof  doors 
and  are  perfectly  safe  from  the  flames  whose  progress  in  that  di- 
rection would  be  thus  arrested.  The  principle  involved  here  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  cyclone  cellar  of  the  western  home,  or  the 
collision  bulkhead  of  the  ocean  steamer.  It  develops  a  "bisec- 
tional  building  "  offering  a  horizontal  instead  of  a  vertical  escape, 
making  the  fire  drill  unnecessary.  (See  Sketch  V.) 
6 


162  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

It  is  Not  a  New  Device: 

There  is  nothing  new  about  this  device.  It  already  exists  in 
buildings  everywhere,  in  one  form  or  another,  and  its  value  as  a 
fire  stop  to  protect  property  has  long  been  known.  Its  availabil- 
ity as  a  fire-escape  has  not,  however,  been  recognized,  and  it  is 
this  feature  which  I  have  advanced  as  affording  the  only  means 
of  safe  escape  from  fire  to  the  occupants  of  crowded  floors.  This 
is  a  new  feature  in  architecture,  as  applicable  to  department 
stores,  schools,  theatres  and  residences  as  to  factories. 

A  Campaign  of  Education  Started: 

Since  my  discovery  of  the  inadequacy  of  the  stairwell  as  a  safe 
means  of  emergency  exit  from  a  crowded  building,  and  my  ad- 
vocacy of  the  fire  wall  as  a  substitute,  I  have  written  and  lectured 
much  upon  the  subject  in  order  to  bring  the  situation  to  the  at- 
tention of  the  public.  This  agitation  resulted,  among  other 
things,  in  the  appointment  of  your  Commission  as  I  have  previ- 
ously stated,  and  you  were  specifically  instructed  to  investigate 
the  situation  and  report  upon  it  promptly  in  order  to  effect  relief 
from  a  very  serious  situation. 

Witnesses  at  the  Hearings  Have  Already  Become  Educated  to  Its 
Necessity: 

There  has  been  overwhelming  evidence  presented  at  the  hear- 
ings in  condemnation  of  the  so-called  "  fire-escape,"  and  in  favor 
of  the  fire  wall.  I  offered  in  evidence  when  I  was  on  the  stand, 
letters  from  such  authorities  as  Mr.  P.  Tecumseh  Sherman  and 
Hon.  John  Williams,  former  and  present  Commissioners  of  Labor, 
respectively,  and  Mr.  A.  D.  F.  Hamlin,  Professor  of  Architec- 
ture at  Columbia  University,  stating  that  the  fire  wall  is  the  only 
safe  type  of  fire-escape  for  buildings  of  the  type  and  occupancy 
under  consideration.  Your  Commission  has  been  shown  fire 
drills  carried  out  in  buildings  without  fire  walls,  and  with  them, 
and  is  therefore  able  from  actual  observation  to  itself  determine 
their  relative  merits.  (See  Sketch  VI.) 


FIRE  IN  A  TTPICAL  NEW  YORK  LOFT  BUILDING. 

Hundreds  of  people  on  each  floor  jam  the  narrow  stairs  and  fire  escapes  in  panic. 
The  elevators  become  jammed  and  on  account  of  the  smoke  and  flames  are  quickly  put  out 
of  commission.  Those  who  are  not  caught  on  the  stairs  either  jump  from  windows  or  from 
the  fire  escapes  when  the  fire  reaches  them. 


Loft  building  with  fire  wall  which  confines  the  fire  to  one-half  of  the  building.  The 
occupants  of  that  half  merely  pass  through  the  doorways  of  the  fire  wall,  close  the  doors 
after  them,  and  are  out  of  the  reach  of  the  fire.  They  do  not  have  to  go  down  stairs  at  all, 
but  if  they  wish  to  do  so  the  stairs  and  elevators  will  be  found  in  normal  condition  without 
flames  or  smoke  in  them.  The  doors  are  fire  proof  and  aelf-closing  from  the  heat  of  the 
fire. 


•"•'  .fiiuo'>id  co  tula  h^imBa 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  163 

The  Three  Alternative  Fire-Escapes: 

Now  that  the  limited  capacity  of  the  stairwell  is  recognized, 
there  are  three  alternative  methods  presented  to  make  buildings 
safe  of  occupancy  as  regards  emergency  exit. 

1.  Limit  the  number  of  people  per  floor  to  the  capacity  of  ex- 

isting stairwells,  and  make  the  latter  smoke  proof. 

2.  Increase  the  number  of  stairwells  (making  all  smoke  proof), 

to   furnish   exit   facilities   for  the  necessary  or   existing 
number  of  people  per  floor. 

3.  Install  a  fire  wall  continuous  from  cellar  to  roof  so  arranged 

as  to  practically  bisect  the  building,  having  ample  stair- 
wells on  each  side. 

In  the  latter  case  only  may  elevators  be  considered  as  exit 
facilities. 

A  Proper  Fire  Drill  Bill: 

I  have  statements  from  real  estate  men,  builders  and  manufac- 
turers that  the  fire  wall  is  the  best  and  cheapest  of  these  alterna- 
tives. A  proper  fire  drill  bill  should  require  that  all  buildings 
should  be  designed  with  one  or  other  of  the  above  alternative 
means  of  emptying  them  within  a  reasonable  time.  I  have  asked 
a  great  many  people  what  they  would  consider  a  length  of  time 
beyond  which  they  would  consider  it  unreasonable  to  hold  people 
inside  of  a  burning  building,  and  from  their  replies  I  have  de- 
cided that  the  consensus  of  opinion  would  place  3  minutes  as 
the  limit. 

Strong  Recommendations  to  the  Legislature  Should  be  Urged: 

Since  the  establishment  of  your  Commission  time  has  not  stood 
still.  The  people  of  New  York  City  have  been  restless  for  some 
action  in  the  direction  of  improvement  in  fire-hazard  conditions. 

The  Fifth  Avenue  Association  which  asked  for  your  appoint- 
ment naturally  awaits  the  result  of  your  investigation  with  much 
interest. 

The  only  legislation  so  far  enacted  for  the  purpose  of  reliev- 


164  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

ing  the  situation  has  been  the  Sullivan-Hoey  Law  developing  a 
Fire  Prevention  Bureau  in  the  Fire  Department,  and  the  evi- 
dences of  its  work  as  so  far  presented  are  not  at  all  encouraging. 
Their  efforts  have  so  far  been  directed  toward  fire  escape  rather 
than  fire  prevention,  and  they  show  a  decided  disregard  of  modern 
methods  by  ordering  what  I  have  referred  to  in  this  report  as 
"  fire  traps  "  on  the  fronts  and  backs  of  buildings  all  over  the 
city.  They  have  not  been  introducing  fire-alarm  signal  systems 
in  buildings,  and  yet  these  are  absolutely  necessary  to  advise 
their  occupants  of  the  existence  of  a  fire  in  them. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  Board  of  Survey  provided  for  in 
the  Sullivan-Hoey  Law  be  changed,  and  that  its  personnel  con- 
sist of  one  member  from  the  American  Society  of  Civil  Engi- 
neers and  one  member  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects, 
each  of  these  to  be  selected  by  the  Chief  of  the  Bureau  of  Fire 
Prevention  from  a  list  of  ten  names  to  be  furnished  by  each  of 
the  organizations  referred  to.  The  third  member  of  the  Board  of 
Survey  to  be  either  an  architect,  an  engineer,  or  an  attorney,  to 
be  selected  by  the  owner  of  the  premises  to  be  surveyed. 

Various  organizations,  civic  and  other,  have  been  moving  ahead 
doing  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing  pending  the  recommenda- 
tions of  your  Commission.  Some  of  these  actions  are  commend- 
able, others  not.  There  is  a  lamentable  amount  of  ignorance  on 
this  subject  which  needs  enlightenment 

It  will  behoove  the  Commission  to  make  its  recommendations 
known  promptly,  to  meet  the  expectation  of  the  public  and  to 
serve  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  appointed. 

Meanwhile,  the  dissemination  of  knowledge  has  gone  on  con- 
cerning my  discovery  of  the  limited  capacity  of  a  stairwell,  as 
well  as  the  remedy  of  the  fire  wall.  The  principle  involved  in 
the  latter  has  been  adopted  in  architecture. 

Building  Codes,  not  only  in  this,  but  other  cities,  are  now  in- 
troducing it  without  waiting  for  the  recommendations  of  your 
Commission. 

For  the  time  and  thought  which  they  generously  gave  to  the 
subject,  I  desire  to  express  my  obligations  to  the  following 
gentlemen  who  were  assigned  by  their  respective  organizations 
to  act  as  a  group  of  advisers  in  the  formulating  of  this  report : 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  165 

Mr.  Edward  F.  Croker,  Ex-Chief  Fire  Department,  Edward  F. 

Croker  Fire  Prevention  Bureau. 

Mr.  George  B.  Ford,  McAneny  Committee  on  Building  Code. 
Mr.  A.  D.  F.  Hamlin,  Professor  of  Architecture,  Columbia  Uni- 
versity. 

Mr.  Henry  W.  Hodge,  Consulting  Engineer. 
Mr.  C.  L.  Holden,  N.  Y.  Chapter  Amer.  Inst.  of  Architects. 
Mr.  George  T.  Mortimer,  V.  P.  United  States  Realty  Co.,  Fifth 

Ave.  Association. 

Mr.  Theophilus    Parsons,    Attorney-at-Law,    New   York   Associ- 
ation for  Labor  Legislation. 

Mr.  C.  B.  J.  Snyder,  Sup't  of  Buildings,  Board  of  Education. 
Mr.  F.  J.  T.  Stewart,  Sup't  of  the  Xew  York  Board  of  Fire 

Underwriters. 

I  desire  also  to  express  my  appreciation  of  the  aid  which 
has  been  given  to  me  by  my  associate,  Mr.  A.  L.  A.  Himmel- 
wright,  and  my  inspectors,  Mr.  E.  B.  Gowin  and  Mr.  D.  Ludins, 
for  their  faithful  and  painstaking  work  in  securing  and  compil- 
ing data  for  my  report,  which  I  herewith  respectfully  .-submit. 

Very  truly  yours, 

(Signed)         H.  F.  J.  PORTEB, 
Adviser  on  Fire  Matters  to  the  Commission. 


166  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

HON.  ROBERT  F.  WAGNER,  Chairman  N.  Y.  State  Factory  Investi- 
gating Commission,  New  York  City,  N.  Y.: 

MY  DEAR  SIR  : 

I  should  like  to  supplement  my  report  by  a  note  which  will  be 
interesting  as  showing  how  recent  experience  has  repeated  that 
which  I  realized  when  I  first  became  interested  in  the  subject  of 
the  safe  occupancy  of  buildings,  some  eight  years  ago. 

I  stated  that  in  1904,  in  an  effort  to  develop  a  rapid  egress  of 
its  occupants  from  a  factory  building  in  Pittsburg,  I  solicited  the 
assistance  of  the  Ohief  of  the  Fire  Department,  as  well  as  of  a 
public  school  principal,  who  was  considered  an  expert  in  installing 
fire  drills  in  that  locality,  and  that  both  of  these  men  acknowledged 
that  they  were  utterly  unable  to  devise  a  fire  drill  which  would  tako 
the  employees  out  of  the  building  by  the  facilities  then  existing 
in  it. 

In  the  group  of  men  which  I  recently  invited  to  meet  with  me 
to  consider  means  of  effecting  a  rapid  egress  of  their  occupants  from 
existing  factory  buildings  here,  were  the  ex-Chief  of  the  Fire  De- 
partment of  this  city,  who  has  gone  into  the  business  of  trying  to 
introduce  fire  drills  into  these  buildings  to  make  them  safe  to  their 
occupants,  and  the  Superintendent  of  Buildings  of  the  Board  of 
Education,  who  designs  the  school  buildings  for  fire  drills,  and 
both  of  these  men  stated  at  the  meetings  which  they  attended  that 
they  were  totally  unable  to  devise  a  fire  drill  which  would  empty 
the  factory  buildings  which  we  had  under  consideration,  as  they  are 
now  designed. 

Just  as  at  Pittsburgh,  changes  had  to  be  made  in  the  stairways 
and  exit  facilities  to  make  the  factory  building  there  emptiable 
under  emergency  conditions,  in  the  same  way  must  changes  be  made 
in  the  factory  buildings  of  this  and  other  cities  of  this  State,  to 
accomplish  the  same  result. 

It  is  squarely  upon  the  shoulders  of  architects  and  builders  that 
this  situation  has  been  allowed  to  develop,  and  they  should  be 
made  to  realize,  by  your  recommendations  for  legislation  calling 
for  a  rapid  egress  test  with  a  three-minute  limit,  that  their  build- 
ings should  hereafter  be  built  emergency  emptiable,  and  then  we 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  167 

will  not  have  to  worry  over  the  installation  of  either  outside  stairs 
of  the  fire-trap  type,  or  of  fire  drills  on  stairs  which  are  bound  to 
he  a  source  of  accident  from  congestion  in  an  emergency  exit. 

Buildings  from  which  people  can  be  extracted  only  by  guides 
and  cork-screw  evolutions  on  inadequate  stairs,  whether  on  the 
inside  or  on  the  outside,  should  eventually  become  obsolete. 
School  buildings  should  be  no  exception  to  the  rule.  School  arch- 
itects have  been  given  carte  blanche  to  design  safe  buildings  and 
should  be  able  to  do  so,  and  children,  some  of  whom  are  cripples, 
others  with  heart  and  lung  troubles,  and  many  insufficiently 
nourished  and  clothed,  should  not  be  compelled  to  walk  down  sev- 
eral flights  of  stairs  and  go  out  into  inclement  weather  and  low 
temperatures  without  an  opportunity  to  secure  their  wraps,  and 
then  have  to  climb  the  stairs  again  in  these  useless  fire  drills. 
The  efficiency  of  these  children  at  their  studies  may  be  impaired 
for  the  day,  and  their  health  may  be  permanently  affected. 

The  public  money  is  appropriated  for  teaching,  not  to  operate 
fire  drills,  and  the  present  waste  of  time  and  money  in  this  direc- 
tion alone,  should  be  eliminated  by  the  introduction  of  modern 
methods  and  the  more  efficient  horizontal  escape  to  safety  through 
fire  walls  in  case  of  fire. 

I  have  referred  to  school  buildings  to  point  out  how  the  tendency 
has  been  to  work  in  the  direction  of  fire  escape  instead  of  fire  pre- 
vention, and  to  go  into  extreme  elaboration  in  attacking  the  effect 
instead  of  working  at  the  cause.  This  shows  the  inertia  of  large 
bodies  towards  divesting  themselves  of  precedent  and  custom. 
It  seems  almost  incomprehensible  that  an  intelligent  body  of  men 
such  as  composes  the  Board  of  Education  of  New  York  City 
should  complacently  continue  to  accept  designs  of  emergency- 
unemptiable  buildings,  and  then  authorize  the  promulgation  of 
such  an  elaborate  series  of  fire  drill  directions,  explaining  what 
is  necessary  to  do  in  order  to  get  out  of  these  buildings  in  an 
emergency,  as  the  Superintendent  of  the  Public  Schools,  Dr.  Max- 
well, has  sent  to  you. 

These  buildings  should  be  constructed  like  the  new  parts  of  the 
Singer  and  Metropolitan  and  the  Wool  worth  buildings,  so  that, 
should  a  fire  occur  in  any  room,  its  occupants  need  merely  be  moved 
into  the  next  room,  the  door  closed,  and  then  either  put  the  fire 


168  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

out  or  let  it  burn  out.  If  a  fire  should  occur  in  an  adjoining 
building,  all  that  should  be  necessary  would  be  to  pull  down  the 
asbestos  curtains  of  the  windows  overlooking  the  blaze,  to  prevent 
the  pupils'  attention  being  distracted  from  their  studies,  and  no 
attempt  should  be  made  to  empty  the  whole  building. 

I  hope  your  Commission  will  seize  the  opportunity  to  brush 
away  traditions,  such  as  the  necessity  for  fire  drills  in  all  public 
schools,  and  the  necessity  for  fire-escapes  on  the  outside  of  all 
buildings.  These  are  both  relics  of  the  past,  and  buildings  should 
be  built  hereafter  which  do  not  require  them.  If  you  can  get  the 
public  to  see  this  situation  in  its  right  light,  perhaps  the  archi- 
tects may  be  made  eventually  to  design  their  structures  so  that 
their  occupants  do  not  have  to  be  dragged  out  of  them  by  com- 
pulsory fire  drills  at  unreasonable  and  inconvenient  times. 

Respectfully  yours, 

H.  F.  J.  PORTER. 
NEW  YORK,  Jan.  31,  1912. 


KEPORT  ON  FIRE  INSPECTION  WORK,  NEW  YORK 
STATE  FACTORY  INVESTIGATION  COMMISSION. 


In  making  a  careful  examination  and  study  of  the  factory  build- 
ings of  this  city,  by  actual  inspection,  a  number  of  dangerous  and 
undesirable  features  and  conditions  were  found. 

Two  Dangerous  Types  of  Buildings: 

The  investigations  have  resulted  in  the  discovery  of  two  types 
of  buildings  in  which  the  conditions  are  particularly  dangerous, 
and  which  constitute  a  most  serious  menace  to  the  lives  of  the  em- 
ployees and  other  occupants  of  these  buildings  in  case  of  fire. 

Under  the  present  building  law,  two  classes  of  fireproof  buildings 
are  provided  for:  (1)  When  they  exceed  150  feet  in  height,  in 
which  the  law  requires  that  the  interior  finish,  such  as  the  floor 
surfaces,  trim,  doors,  and  window  frames  and  sash  shall  be  of  fire- 
proof material;  that  is,  hollow  metal,  metal-covered  wood,  or  wood 
treated  by  some  process  to  render  it  fireproof.  (2)  When  less  than 
150  feet  in  height,  in  which  the  interior  finish,  trim,  doors,  window 
frames  and  sash,  etc.,  may  be  of  ordinary  wood. 

It  is  the  fireproof  loft  building  less  than  150  feet  (or  approxi- 
mately 12  stories)  in  height  which  is  one  of  the  two  dangerous 
types  of  buildings  above  referred  to.  In  all  these  so-called  loft 
buildings  light  manufacturing  is  permitted,  and  in  the  case  of  a 
number  of  industries  coming  under  this  classification,  great  num- 
bers of  employees  are  crowded  into  these  buildings  irrespective  of 
the  exit  facilities.  In  the  loft  buildings  less  than  150  feet  in 
height  there  is,  therefore,  in  addition  to  the  danger  from  inadequate 
exits  sufficient  inflammable  material  in  the  floor  finish,  partitions, 
trim,  etc.,  to  cause  fire  of  great  intensity  and  of  sufficient  duration 
to  destroy  not  only  the  lives  of  the  occupants  but  also  the  entire 
contents  of  the  building  above  the  story  in  which  the  fire  originates. 

The  extension  ladders  of  the  Fire  Department  are  approximately 
85  to  90  feet  in  length,  and  can  reach  only  to  about  the  7th  story 
of  the  average  building.  In  case  of  fire  or  panic  there  is,  therefore, 
a  zone  of  great  danger  to  life  in  these  buildings  less  than  150  feet 
in  height  and  comprising  the  8th  to  the  12th  stories,  inclusive. 


170  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

The  Asch  Building  at  Washington  and  Green  streets  was  an 
example  of  this  class  of  buildings,  and  that  fire  occurred  in  the 
danger  zone  herein  indicated.  Persons  occupying  these  buildings 
above  the  seventh  floor  are  in  imminent  danger,  and  prompt  action 
for  the  immediate  protection  of  persons  in  this  danger  zone  is  most 
urgent  and  necessary.  It  is  strongly  recommended  that  combustible 
trim,  floor  finish,  window  frames  and  sash,  etc.,  be  prohibited  in 
new  fire  proof  buildings  over  85  feet  in  height. 

The  other  dangerous  type  of  building  referred  to  is  the 
old  style  non-fireproof,  converted  residence  or  tenement  house, 
usually  five  or  six  stories  in  height,  and  provided  with  a  single 
wooden  stairway  for  the  exit  of  its  occupants.  A  fire  occurring  in 
the  stairway  in  any  of  the  lower  stories  of  these  buildings  would 
eeriously  endanger  the  lives  of  many  of  the  occupants,  depending 
upon,  the  promptness  of  the  Fire  Department  in  reaching  the  build- 
ing in  time  to  save  their  lives.  Nearly  all  of  these  buildings  have 
fire-escapes  in  the  front  or  rear,  but  experience  has  shown  that 
fire-escapes  without  the  assistance  of  firemen  have  very  little  value 
as  means  of  exit  from  buildings  in  case  of  fire,  especially  where  the 
occupants  consist  largely  of  women  and  girls.  (See  Sketch  II.) 
This  type  of  building  is  exceedingly  dangerous  in  case  of  fire,  and 
material  changes  will  be  necessary  to  mako  them  safe  and  satis- 
factory from  the  standpoint  of  fire  danger.  It  is  suggested  that 
another  stairway  be  required  or  that  these  buildings  be  provided 
with  fireproof  stairways  and  fireproof  stair  halls  enclosed  by  sub- 
stantial fireproof  walls  or  partitions,  or  a  fire  tower  be  constructed 
in  an  adjacent  court  or  the  rear  yard  of  these  buildings,  if  their 
use  for  factory  purposes  is  to  be  continued. 

Other  Dangerous  Features  of  Loft  Buildings'- 

In  addition  to  the  two  particularly  dangerous  types  of  buildings 
referred  to  above,  a  number  of  undesirable  conditions  were  found 
to  exist  in  the  great  majority  of  loft  and  factory  buildings 
inspected,  as  follows: 

(1)  Insufficient  Exit  Facilities. —  In  nearly  every  building 
inspected,  including  the  most  recent  and  modern  lofts,  the  exit 
facilities  were  found  inadequate.  Experience  has  shown  that  an 
average  stairway,  for  each  22  inches  in  width,  has  a  capacity  limited 


THE  FIEE  HAZARD-  171 

to  about  12  persons  per  story.  The  number  of  persons  or  occupants 
in  the  factory  buildings  in  every  case  exceeded  the  capacity  of 
the  stairways  in  some  of  the  stories,  and  in  case  of  fire  the  lives 
of  the  excess  number  in  these  stories  would  be  in  jeopardy,  as  it 
would  be  impossible  for  them  to  make  their  escape  in  time  to  save 
their  lives.  Of  159  buildings  inspected  the  exit  facilities  in  02 
were  found  to  be  faulty,  in  2  obstructed  and  in  23  dangerous. 

(2)  Exits  Obstructed  by  Temporary  Partitions. —  In  nearly 
all  the  loft  buildings  temporary  partitions  6  to  7  ft.  high  have 
generally  been  erected  around  the  stairway  and  elevator  doors  on 
each  floor,  forming  a  passage  or  vestibule  in  front  of  the  exits. 
In  some  cases  the  space  between  the  stairway  and  elevator  doors 
was  as  small  as  three  feet,  but  in  most  cases  the  space  was  4  ft.  to 
6  ft.  in  width.  Sliding  doors  in  these  temporary  partitions  admit 
the  occupants  to  the  vestibule  and  thence  to  the  stairways  and 
elevators.  Very  frequently  cases  and  piles  of  stock  and  supplies 
are  massed  about  these  partitions,  often  restricting  the  size  of  the 
openings  and  impeding  and  preventing  the  sliding  doors  from 
operating  easily.  In  many  cases  the  total  width  of  the  openings  of 
the  sliding  doors  was  very  much  less  than  the  total  width  of  the 
exit  doors.  It  was  claimed  by  the  tenants  that  these  partitions 
were  necessary  for  business  or  economical  reasons,  as  a  barrier  to 
sueak  thieves,  and  in  order  to  enable  the  inspectors  to  properly 
watch  the  employes  as  they  came  in  and  passed  out  from  work 
each  day. 

Temporary  board  partitions,  or  "  shop  partitions,"  as  they  are 
sometimes  known,  are  put  up  indiscriminately  by  tenants  to  enclose 
stock  and  supply  rooms,  designing  rooms,  etc.,  and  without  any  con- 
sideration as  to  the  restriction  of  light  and  ventilation,  etc.  These 
partitions  are  often  located  in  disadvantageous  positions  by  inex- 
perienced foremen  and  superintendents,  so  that  they  not  only 
hinder  the  business  of  the  tenants  but  make  conditions  dangerous 
for  the  employees  in  case  of  fire.  It  is  recommended  that  some 
regulations  be  enacted  prohibiting  the  use  of  combustible  materials 
for  shop  partitions  in  fireproof  buildings,  and  that  the  location  and 
the  arrangement  of  the  partition?  be  subject  to  th-r-  approval  of  the 
Building  Department  or  some  bureau  having  jurisdiction  before 


172  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

permission  is  given  to  erect  them.  Out  of  109  buildings  in  which 
shop  partitions  were  found,  only  in  42  were  the  partitions  fairly 
well  arranged,  while  in  48  the  arrangement  of  the  partitions  was 
faulty,  resulting  in  the  obstruction  of  light  or  ventilation,  or  both, 
and  in  19  the  arrangement  of  the  partitions  was  such  as  to  delay 
employees  in  reaching  the  exits,  favoring  panic  and  thus  endanger- 
ing life. 

(3)  Congested  Conditions. —  In  numerous  buildings  the  work 
tables,  merchandise,  stock,  and  even  the  workers  were  crowded  to- 
gether so  as  to  make  it  impossible  for  the  employees  to  move  about 
with  freedom.  Large  piles  of  merchandise  and  stock  also  interfered 
with  the  light  and  air  so  that  there  is  generally  improper  light  and 
ventilation  where  these  congested  conditions  exist. 

(4)  Bad  Arrangement. —  The  arrangement  of  tables,  merchan- 
dise, etc.,  was  often  such  that  the  aisles  between  the  tables  had  a 
direction  at  right  angles  to  the  exits,  with  no  intermediate  aisles. 
These  aisles  in  most  cases  were  too  small  or  narrow  to  admit  of 
easy  passage.    In  time  of  fire  or  panic  such  conditions  would  prevent 
the  occupants  from  reaching  the  exits  promptly. 

(5)  Neglected  Fire  Appliances. —  Only  in  a  few  cases,  even 
in    the    most    modern    loft    buildings,    have    chemical    fire    ex- 
tinguishers   been    installed.      In    most    cases,    jfire    buckets    or 
tanks    were    found,    but    these    were   generally    in    a    bad    con- 
dition.    Instead  of  the  fire  buckets  being  in  their  regular  racks 
and  kept  filled  with  water,  they  were   usually  found  hanging 
underneath  the  cutting  or   pressing  tables  with  varying  quan- 
tities of  water,  but  generally  less  than  half  full  and  being  used  by 
the  workmen  in  connection  with  their  regular  work.     Fire  tanks 
of  more  than  15  gallons  capacity  are  generally  to  be  preferred  in 
manufacturing  establishments  for  the  reason  that  they  cannot  so 
readily  be  adapted  for  other  purposes.   Of  159  buildings  inspected, 
fire  appliances  were  found  in  149  buildings,  and  in  34  of  these 
they  were  neglected  and  not  in  suitable  condition  for  use. 

(6)  Rubbish,  Cuttings,  etc. —  In  many  industries,  notably  in 
the  manufacturing  of  clothing,  there  are  large  quantities  of  cut- 
tings, scraps,  etc.,  which  result  from  the  routine  work,  and  these 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  173 

are  generally  brushed  off  of  the  tables  and  scattered  over  the  floors. 
In  some  of  the  larger  establishments  one  or  two  persons  are  espe- 
cially detailed  to  gather  such  cuttings  and  rubbish  and  keep  the 
shop  clean.  In  smaller  places  the  work  of  collecting  the  rubbish  is 
performed  in  the  morning  and  in  the  late  afternoon.  During  the 
middle  of  the  day  such  rubbish  is,  therefore,  liable  to  accumulate 
in  considerable  quantities,  and  become  a  menace  to  safety.  It  is 
believed  that  much  of  the  danger  from  this  source  could  be  elimin- 
ated by  requiring  metal  fireproof  receptacles  for  such  rubbish,  and 
that  it  be  collected  constantly  during  working  hours  by  a  sufficient 
number  of  persons  to  keep  the  premises  clean,  the  waste,  scrap, 
rubbish,  etc.,  to  be  required  to  be  removed  from  the  building  at 
the  end  of  each  working  day. 

(7)  Smoking. —  One  of  the   most  frequent  causes  of  fire  is 
smoking.     In  some  places  signs  are  posted  prohibiting  smoking, 
and  in  nearly  all  cases  smoking  is  prohibited  by  verbal  instructions. 
Nevertheless,  the  inspectors  found  considerable  smoking  going  on 
in  nearly  all  the  buildings  visited.     Frequently  the  proprietor  or 
superintendent,  would  be  smoking  while  making  the  rounds  of  the 
establishment  with  the  inspectors,  and  the  smoking  employees  see- 
ing them  approach,  would  sometimes  throw  a  lighted  cigarette  un- 
derneath the  tables  and  in  corners  where  rubbish  and  scraps  might 
easily  have  started  a  blaze. 

(8)  Inflammable  Materials  and  Supplies. — The  establishments 
manufacturing  inflammable  goods  such  as  celluloid,  etc.,  should  be 
controlled  by  special  regulations  and  should  be  prohibited  from  con- 
tinuing within  the  city  limits  unless  special  safeguards  and  regula- 
tions are  provided.     Such  concerns  should  be  required  to  provide 
fireproof  supply  rooms,  and  fireproof  receptacles  for  rubbish,  and 
should  be  permitted  to  take  from  the  supply  rooms  only  sufficient 
raw  material  to  last  for  certain  safe  periods  of  time  in  the  work- 
rooms.    Such  concerns  should  be  permitted  only  in  detached  or 
separate  buildings  with  incombustible  floor  finish  and  trim,  metal 
work  tables,  furniture,  etc. 

(9)  Fire  Drills. — Of  159  buildings  inspected,  fire  drills  have 
been  attempted  in  only  18,  and  in  4  of  these  the  drills  were  ineffi- 


174  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

cient  and  unsatisfactory.  Fire  drills  when  installed  by  inexperi- 
enced persons  frequently  have  little  or  no  value.  In  some  cases 
the  occupants  of  a  story  are  drilled  simply  to  march  to  the  exits, 
and  no  provision  is  made  in  case  fire  should  occur  at  or  near  one 
of  the  exits,  which  would  require  an  immediate  modification  of  the 
drill.  Such  fire  drills  in  buildings  with  inadequate  exits  are  useless 
and  a  waste  of  time,  as  it  would  be  impossible  to  get  the  occupants 
out  of  the  building  or  to  safety  in  case  of  a  fire. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  the  drills  are  installed  by  competent 
persons  and  suitable  exit  facilities  are  provided,  proper  fire  alarm 
signals  introduced,  fire-fighting  brigades  organized,  and  fire-extin- 
guishing appliances  available,  the  fire  drills  have  real  value  and 
will  prove  successful  and  satisfactory  in  case  of  an  actual  fire. 

In  buildings  with  fire  walls  as  defined  in  the  recommendations 
submitted  herewith,  fire  drills  would  become  so  simple  that  any 
intelligent  person  could  install  and  supervise  them,  while  the  time 
required  for  their  execution  would  be  limited  to  only  a  few  minutes. 

(10)  Fire  Escapes. —  In  159  buildings  inspected  all  had  fire- 
escapes  but  seven.     Ninety  were  of  the  stairway  type,  52  of  the 
sloping  ladder  type,  and  10  of  the  vertical  ladder  type.     Of  these, 
138  were  faulty  either  in  design  or  construction,  and  49  had  danger- 
ous and  unsatisfactory  ground  connections  or  exits.    In  nearly  every 
case  the  fire-escape  was  located  in  a  position  where  it  would  be 
exposed  to  flames  in  case  of  fire. 

Experience  has  shown  that  the  ordinary  fire-escape  furnishes  a 
most  unreliable  and  unsatisfactory  means  of  escape.  They  have 
proved  to  be  much  more  useful  to  the  firemen  in  fighting  fires 
than  to  persons  seeking  escape  from  fire.  When  the  flames  burst 
through  windows  underneath  the  fire-escape,  as  is  often  the  case, 
escape  is  cut  off  and  the  fire-escape  itself  is  destroyed  and  rendered 
useless  by  the  heat.  It  is  now  generally  conceded  by  experts  and 
others  who  have  studied  the  fire  problem,  that  the  outside  fire-escape 
as  now  furnished  has  very  little  value  for  the  purpose  intended ; 
that  a  more  reliable  means  of  escape  should  be  provided;  and  that 
the  requirement  and  use  of  fire-escapes  in  the  future  should  be 
discouraged. 

(11)  Stand  Pipes. — These  were  found  installed  in  58  build- 
ings of  those  inspected.     Stand  pipes  with  proper  water  supply  and 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  1Y5 

street  connections  for  fire  engines  are  a  valuable  adjunct  of  the 
fire-fighting  equipment,  and  should  be  required  in  all  factory  build- 
ings over  seven  stories  or  85  feet  in  height. 

(12)  Automatic  Sprinklers. —  Automatic  sprinkler  systems 
\vere  installed  in  45  buildings  of  those  inspected.  It  is  believed 
that  the  sprinkler  -v-nm  where  properly  installed  will  in  many 
cases  extinguish  fire  in  its  incipiency,  and  in  most  cases  will  retard 
its  spread,  affording  more  time  for  the  escape  of  persons  to  safety 
ami  preventing  the  fire  from  gaining  material  headway  until  the 
arrival  of  the  firemen.  They  should  be  required  in  all  non-fire- 
proof factory  buildings  occupied  by  more  than  200  persons  above 
the  first  story,  and  exceeding  three  stories  or  40  feet  in  height. 
In  fireproof  buildings  with  window  openings  protected  with  ap- 
proved fireproof  frames,  sash  and  glass,  sprinkler  systems  are 
more  useful  and  valuable  as  a  protection  to  property  than  to  life. 

(  1  •'! )  Fire  Walls. — The  principle  of  the  fire  wall  is  rapidly 
being  recognized  by  the  fire  experts  and  the  insurance  and  under- 
writing interests  as  the  most  general  and  satisfactory  solution  of 
the  danger  to  life  in  the  factory  buildings.  It  is  applicable  to  all 
factory  buildings,  and  can  be  adapted  to  department  stores,  thea- 
tres, and  all  other  buildings  where  large  numbers  of  persons  as- 
semble. Besides  being  a  safe  and  effective  means  of  protecting 
life,  it  is  equally  desirable  from  the  standpoint  of  preventing  large 
property  losses,  and  for  the  latter  reason  is  advocated  by  the  insur- 
ance and  underwriting  interests. 

In  159  buildings,  fire  walls  were  found  in  35  and  where  used 
and  understood,  caused  a  feeling  of  security  and  safety  to  the  em- 
ployees not  found  in  other  buildings. 

It  is  recommended  that  fire  walls  should  be  required  in  every 
future  factory  building  over  ?even  stories  or  85  feet  in  height,  and 
which  is  occupied  by  more  than  50  persons  above  the  first  story. 

Violations  of  the  Lair: 

While  engaged  in  the  work  of  inspection  which  extended  over  a 
period  of  two  months,  the  inspectors  found  the  following  violations 
of  law: 


176  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

13  violations  in  respect  to  stairways. 

1  violation  in  respect  to  stairway  enclosures. 

105  violations  in  respect  to  doors  opening  in. 

88  violations  in  respect  to  fire-escape?. 

34  violations  in  respect  to  fire  appliances. 

1  violation  in  respect  to  passenger  elevators. 

IN  GENERAL,. 

The  foregoing  are  but  a  few  of  the  most  important  facts  and 
conditions  which  should  receive  prompt  consideration  at  the  hands 
of  the  Commission.  Numerous  other  undesirable  conditions  were 
also  found,  but  the  short  time  and  the  insufficient  appropriation  for 
this  work  has  necessarily  limited  the  amount,  and  scope  of  the  in- 
spection work. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  fire  problem,  it  is  believed  that  the 
work  of  the  Commission  naturally  divides  itself  into  two  parts : 

(1)  Recommendations  for  the  immediate  correction  of  the  danger- 
ous and  undesirable  conditions  in  existing  buildings;  (2)  Recom- 
mendations with  reference  to  the  construction  of  new  buildings 
which  will  eliminate  the  undesirable  and  dangerous  conditions  found 
in  present  buildings. 

It  is  believed  that  the  most  practical  way  in  which  the  Commission 
can  obtain  the  desired  results  with  the  least  delay  is  (1)  to  secure 
legislation  forthwith  incorporating  the  recommendations  of  the 
Commission  in  respect  to  existing  buildings  and  including  the 
recommendations  herewith  submitted;  and  (2)  that  the  Commis- 
sion recommend  the  appointment  of  a  board  of  competent  experts 
to  draft  a  State  Building  Code,  in  which  shall  be  incorporated  the 
recommendations  of  the  Commission,  including  the  recommenda- 
tions herewith  submitted  with  respect  to  new  buildings,  said  code 
to  govern  the  construction  of  all  new  buildings  erected  in  the  State 
of  New  York  in  the  future. 

Treating  the  fire  problem  in  the  manner  already  referred  to, 
herewith  are  submitted  two  sets  of  detailed  recommendations,  one 
referring  to  existing  buildings,  and  the  other  to  new  buildings. 


RECOMMENDATIONS  TO  ELIMINATE  THE  DANGER 

TO  LIFE  FROM  FIRE  IN  FACTORY  AND  OTHER 

BUILDINGS. 


SYNOPSIS  OF  THE  PROPOSED  PLAN  TO  CORRECT  THE  DANGEROUS 
AND  UNDESIRABLE  CONDITIONS  IN  EXISTING  BUILDINGS. 


Assuming  that  immediate  relief  is  sought  from  existing  condi- 
tions, it  is  necessary  that  any  proposed  remedy  or  plan  will  not 
conflict  with  the  administration  and  jurisdiction  of  the  different 
municipal  bureaus  as  now  constituted,  and  in  order  that  the  pro- 
posed plan  may  be  practical  and  feasible  in  its  fulfillment,  the 
various  steps  and  actions  necessary  must  be  in  conformance  with 
the  regular  routine  methods  of  the  bureaus  and  departments  hav- 
ing jurisdiction; 

A  careful  study  has  been  made  from  the  practical  side  of  this 
problem  as  well  as  from  the  engineering  and  structural  stand- 
points, while  the  owner's  interest  has  also  been  kept  constantly 
in  mind.  It  is  fully  realized  that  the  owners  in  many  cases  will 
be  obliged  to  incur  considerable  expense  in  correcting  the  unsafe 
conditions,  and  in  order  that  no  unnecessary  hardship  may  be 
imposed  upon  them,  every  proper  and  practicable  alternative  has 
been  made  optional,  and  in  all  these  cases  the  expense  has  been 
kept  at  a  minimum  consistent  with  efficiency  and  good 
construction. 

In  general,  the  proposed  remedy  for  existing  buildings  is  as 
follows : 

All  buildings  in  which  a  large  number  of  persons  are  employed, 
except  theatres,  tenement  houses,  hotels  and  office  buildings,  to  be 
posted  under  the  direction  of  the  Municipal  or  State  Bureaus,  or 
officers  having  jurisdiction,  the  notices  to  specify  the  number  of 
persons  that  may  safely  occupy  each  floor  in  every  building.  To 
guide  the  inspectors  of  the  Municipal  or  State  Bureaus,  or  other 


178  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

officers  having  jurisdiction,  carefully  prepared  definite  rules, 
applicable  to  both  fireproof  and  non-fireproof  buildings,  have  been 
developed  and  submitted. 

If  any  building  is  occupied  on  any  story  by  more  persons  than 
is  specified  in  the  notice  posted  in  said  story,  the  owner  and  tho 
tenants  are  both  notified  by  the  Municipal  or  State  Bureaus,  or 
other  officers  having  jurisdiction,  and  ninety  days  time  is  given 
to  either  change  the  number  of  occupants  in  the  said  story  or 
provide  the  following  optional  alternatives:  Additional  stair- 
ways, fire  towers,  fire  walls  (or  fire-wall  principle;  cutting 
through  openings  in  party  walls  between  adjoining  buildings,  pro- 
viding bridges  to  other  buildings),  or  providing  such  other  exits 
or  making  such  other  alterations,  or  introducing  such  safety 
devices  as  will  enable  all  the  occupants  of  any  building  to  reach 
places  of  safety  within  three  minutes  after  the  fire-alarm  signal 
sounds. 

Except  in  the  very  highest  type  and  completely  equipped  fire- 
proof building,  it  is  made  compulsory  that  fire  alarms  and  fire 
drills  shall  be  installed.  Fire  drills  to  be  installed  as  soon  as  the 
necessary  exit  facilities  have  been  provided  in  each  case. 

Now,  as  to  the  practical  side  of  the  plan:  When  an  owner 
receives  a  notice  that  his  building  is  occupied  in  any  story  by 
more  than  the  number  of  persons  specified,  his  first  move  will  be  to 
call  in  his  architect  or  an  engineer  to  devise  a  remedy.  In  most 
cases  there  would  be  only  a  few  stories  in  which  there  are  more 
than  the  permitted  number  of  persons.  In  order  that  the  owner 
may  retain  his  tenants,  some  provision  will  have  to  be  made  to 
take  care  of  the  excess  number  of  occupants  in  these  stories.  As 
soon  as  a  plan  is  decided  upon,  drawings  are  made  and  submitted 
to  Municipal  or  State  Bureaus  or  other  officers  having  jurisdic- 
tion. If  the  proposed  remedy  meets  with  the  approval  of  that 
bureau,  the  plans  are  then  filed  in  the  Building  Department,  and, 
if  approved,  a  building  permit  obtained  and  the  work  carried  on 
to  completion  in  the  regular  manner. 

In  the  case  of  the  type  of  buildings  occupied  by  more  than 
fifty  persons  above  the  first  story,  with  a  single  wooden  stairway 
for  the  exit  of  its  occupants,  the  proposed  remedy  requires  a  sec- 
ond stairway  remote  from  the  first,  a  fireproof  stairway,  or  a  fire 


THE  FntE  HAZABJX  179 

tower  in  a  court  or  a  rear  yard  of  the  building  plot.  Where  this 
type  of  building  is  old  and  dilapidated,  as  is  fraquently  the  case, 
the  owner  will  hesitate  to  expend  the  amount  necessary  to  install 
a  fireproof  stairway.  By  providing  the  alternate  of  a  fire  tower, 
the  latter  could  be  constructed  without  interfering  with  the  normal 
and  ordinary  use  of  the  building  and  could  In  utilized  subse- 
quently as  part  of  a  plan  for  a  new  building,  which  it  could  serve 
as  efficiently  as  the  present  building.  The  construction  work 
would  in  all  cases  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Building  De- 
partment, as  already  stated. 

By  this  proposed  plan  the  regularly  practicing  architects,  engi- 
neers and  contractors  will  perform  the  work  in  the  usual  manner, 
without  requiring  any  special  appropriation  for  the  work  by  the 
State  or  the  city,  and  thus  bring  about  the  desired  results  in  a 
natural,  effective  and  expeditious  manner. 

By  the  time  that  legislation  embracing  this  subject  can  be  real- 
ized, there  will  probably  be  sufficient  inspectors  available  in  the 
Municipal  or  State  Bureaus'  jurisdiction  to  inspect  all  the  factory 
buildings  in  six  weeks  to  two  months  time,  and  with  three  months 
time  in  which  to  make  the  alterations  and  comply  with  the  provi- 
sions of  the  law,  it  is  believed  that  four  months  approximately 
will  be  all  the  time  necessary  after  the  passage  of  the  necessary 
law,  to  correct  the  existing  conditions  in  factories  and  accomplish 
the  work  that  the  Commission  was  specially  delegated  to  perform. 

The  proposed  plan  in  regard  to  all  existing  factory  buildings 
contemplates  the  following  requirements  in  the  treatment  of  the 
buildings,  summarizing  and  recapitulating: 

(1)  All  factory  buildings  to  be  posted,  the  notice  giving  the 
number  of  persons  that  may  occupy  each  story.     The  number  of 
persons  to  be  determined  according  to  the  rules  submitted. 

(2)  Buildings  in  which  the  occupants  of  each  story  do  not 
exceed  the  number  specified  in  the  notice  posted  will  require  no 
changes  or  alterations  (except  3). 

(3)  Non-fireproof  buildings  with  a  single  stairway  occupied  by 
more  than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  story  will  be  required,  after 


180  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

ninety  days  from  the  date  of  the  notice  posted,  to  have  another 
stairway  remote  from  the  existing  one,  or  a  fireproof  stairway, 
or  fire  tower,  or  the  total  number  of  occupants  reduced  to  less 
than  fifty. 

(4)  In  non-fireproof  buildings  with  more  than  one  stairway, 
and  in  all  fireproof  buildings  which  are  occupied  by  more  than 
fifty  persons  above  the  first  floor,  the  following  features  will  be 
required  within  ninety  days  from  the  date  of  the  notice : 

(a)  That  the  number  of  persons  in  each  story  be  reduced  to  the 
number  specified  in  the  notice  posted. 

(b)  If  more  persons  are  to  remain  in  any  story  than  specified 
in  the  notice  posted,  additional  stairways,  fire  walls,  fireproof  con- 
nections to  adjacent  or  nearby  structures  or  other  exit  facilities 
or  safety  appliances  shall  be  provided,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  Municipal  or  State  Bureau  or  officers  having  jurisdiction. 

(5)  In  all  factory  buildings  occupied  by  more  than  fifty  per- 
sons above  the  first  story  (excepting  the  very  highest  type  of  fire- 
proof buildings,  with  incombustible  floor  surfaces,  trim,  doors, 
window  frames  and  sash  with  wire  glass,  closing  automatically, 
and  with  fire    walls    and    automatic    sprinklers),    there  will  be 
required : 

(a)  A  manual  fire-alarm  system. 

(b)  A  compulsory  fire  drill  within  ninety  days,  and  after  the 
occupancy  has  been  reduced  to  the  number  of  persons  posted  or 
suitable  exits  have  been  provided  to  enable  all  the  occupants  to 
make  their  exit  to  places  of  safety  within  three  minutes. 

EXISTING  BUILDINGS. 
Posting: 

In  every  existing  building  in  the  State  of  New  York  used 
as  a  factory,  workshop,  store,  school,  college,  institution,  etc., 
which  is  regularly  occupied  by  more  than  fifty  persons 
above  the  first  floor,  except  public  schools,  office  buildings, 
hotels,  and  tenement  houses,  the  Fire  Commissioner  or  the 
Bureau  of  Fire  Prevention  in  New  York  city,  or  the 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  181 

Commissioner  of  Safety  or  other  officer  or  bureau  in 
other  cities,  or  the  proper  state  official  outside  of  municipal  limits  — 
having  proper  jurisdiction  and  hereinafter  designated,  the  municipal 
or  state  bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction  —  shall  cause  to  be 
posted,  notices  or  placards  specifying  the  number  of  persons  that 
may  occupy  each  floor  in  said  building.  One  such  notice  is  to  be 
posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  near  the  entrance  door  to  each  floor 
on  the  stairway  side  of  each  stairway  enclosure,  and  at  least  two 
such  notices  in  conspicuous  places  in  each  story  in  said  building.' 
If  any  story  is  occupied  by  more  than  one  tenant,  two  such  notices 
shall  be  posted  in  the  space  occupied  by  each  tenant.  All  such 
notices  to  bear  the  date  of  the  day  when  posted. 

Notification: 

In  case  more  persons  occupy  any  floor  or  floors  than  is 
specified  in  the  said  notices,  the  municipal  or  state  bureaus 
or  officers  having  jurisdiction,  shall  notify  the  tenant  or 
tenants  of  said  floor  and  the  owner  of  the  said  build- 
ing on  a  regular  printed  form  for  this  purpose.  The 
form  shall  include  a  further  notice  to  the  tenants  and  the 
owner  that  the  number  of  occupants  on  said  floor  must  be  reduced 
to  the  number  specified  in  the  said  notice  posted ;  or  such  changes, 
alterations  or  additions  made  in  the  building;  or  such  additional 
stairways,  preferably  a  separate  stairway  for  each  floor,  fire  walls 
or  fire  towers  introduced;  or  such  openings  into,  or  fireproof  con- 
nections made  with,  adjoining  or  nearby  structures;  or  such  other 
exit  facilities  or  safety  devices  provided  —  as  may  be  necessary, 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  municipal  or  state  bureaus  or 
officers  having  jurisdiction,  to  insure  the  reasonable  safety  of  the 
persons  occupying  the  premises  by  providing  "ways  and  means  of 
exit  in  the  manner  and  within  the  time  as  hereinafter  specified ; 
said  notice  to  be  complied  with,  or  said  additional  exit  facilities, 
etc.,  to  be  provided  within  90  days  after  the  date  of  the  said  notice. 

Buildings  with  a  Single  Stairway: 

In    every    existing    building    occupied    by    more    than    fifty 
persons  above  the  first  floor  and  in  which  only  one  stairway  is 


182  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

provided  for  the  exit  of  all  its  occupants,  another  stairway  shall 
be  provided  remote  from  the  existing  one,  or  said  stairway  shall 
be  made  fireproof  and  shall  be  enclosed  by  fireproof  walls  or 
partitions;  stair  halls  with  fireproof  floors,  finish,  doors,  trim,  etc., 
shall  be  also  provided,  all  as  elsewhere  herein  specified.  Said 
stairway  and  enclosure  shall  extend  to  the  roof,  and  in  non- 
fireproof  buildings,  the  enclosing  walls  of  the  stair  halls  shall 
extend  at  least  three  feet  above  the  roof  and  be  coped.  Or  a  tower 
fire-escape  or  fire  tower  as  herein  recommended  may  be 
erected  within  the  building  or  adjoining  the  building  and  ex- 
tending into  a  rear  or  side  court  or  yard,  provided  the  space 
occupied  by  said  fire  tower  does  not  exceed  25%  of  the  yard  or 
court  area  of  the  building  lot. 

Fire  Alarm  System.     Fire  Drills: 

In  every  building  which  is  occupied  regularly  by  more 
than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  floor  (except  fireproof  build- 
ings, with  approved  fireproof  window  frames  and  sash  (closing 
automatically)  with  wire  glazing  and  equipped  with  fire  walls 
and  approved  automatic  sprinklers),  there  shall  be  installed,  sub- 
ject to  the  approval  of  the  municipal  or  state  bureaus  or  officers 
having  jurisdiction,  a  manual  fire-alarm  system  by  which  all  the 
occupants  of  a  building  or  all  the  occupants  between  fire  walls 
and  exterior  walls  of  a  building  shall  be  instantly  notified  in 
case  of  fire.  Said  fire-alarm  on  each  floor  shall  indicate  the  floor 
on  which  the  fire  exists. 

In  every  such  building  there  shall  be  installed  a  compulsory 
fire  drill  of  all  persons  occupying  the  said  building,  to  be  operutc-1 
at  least  once  in  every  month.  The  fire  drill  shall  conduct  all 
the  occupants  of  the  building  to  safety  either  into  fire  towers, 
stairwells  or  stair  halls  with  fireproof  enclosure  walls  as  herein 
provided,  or  through  fire  walls,  or  to  the  outside  of  the  building. 
Xo  building  shall  be  deemed  safe  or  as  furnishing  adequate  exit 
facilities  that  requires  more  than  three  minutes  for  the  exit  to 
safety  of  all  its  occupants,  as  herein  prescribed.  The  fire  drill* 
shall  be  installed  as  soon  as  the  necessary  exit  facilities  have  been 
provided,  and  the  said  drill  shall  constitute  the  decisive  test  of 
the  adequacy  of  the  exit  facilities  of  each  buildinar.  The  fire 
drill  shall  be  subject  to  tho  approval  <»f  tho  municipal  or  state 
bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction,  and  shall  be  witnessed, 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  183 

timed  and  certified  to  by  a  delegated  representative  of  said  juris- 
diction within  one  hundred  days  of  the  date  of  the  original  notice 
posted. 

Determination  of  the  dumber  of  Persons  that  May  Safely  Occupy 
any  Story  in  Existing  Buildings : 

The  number  of  persons  that  may  occupy  any  floor  in  any  exist- 
ing building  is  to  be  determined  by  the  capacity  of  the  stairways 
and  exits,  and  the  provisions  of  the  State  La'bor  Law,  as  follows : 

Non-Fireproof  Buildings :  First  floor  or  ground  floor :  One 
hundred  persons  for  each  22  inches  of  clear  width  of  openings 
of  regular  door  exits;  in  case  there  is  but  a  single  exit,  one-half 
the  above  number  of  persons.  Second  floor  to  and  including  the 
seventh  floor,  12  persons  per  floor  for  every  18  inches  of  clear 
width  of  each  stairway  leading  down  from  said  floor,  provided 
the  height  of  the  stories  between  finished  floor  levels  is  not  less 
than  ten  feet;  the  clear  width  of  the  stairs  to  be  measured  from 
the  wall  to  the  center  of  the  hand  rail  or  from  center  to  center 
of  hand  rails.  Above  the  seventh  floor  one-half  the  number  of 
persons  per  floor  as  in  the  floors  below.  If  the  story  heights  ex- 
ceed ten  feet  between  finished  floor  levels,  the  capacity  of  the  stairs 
may  be  increased  by  one  person  for  each  16  inches  of  additional 
story  height  for  each  18  inches  of  width  of  stairway. 

Fire  towers  or  fireproof  stairways  enclosed  in  self-sustaining 
walls,  eight  inches  or  more  in  thickness,  shall  not  be  considered 
as  having  any  greater  capacity  than  other  stairways  of  the  same 
width. 

Non-fireproof  buildings  with  approved  fire  walls  as  herein  rec- 
ommended shall  have  a  capacity  per  floor  between  fire  walls  of 
fifty  persons  for  each  22  inches  of  width  of  clear  openings  in 
such  walls. 

Fireproof  Buildings:  The  number  of  persons  that  may  oc- 
cupy the  first  or  ground  floor  to  be  the  same  as  in  non-fireproof 
buildings.  For  all  floors  above  the  first,  12  persons  for  every 
18  inches  of  width  of  each  stairway,  leading  down,  when  the 
story  heights  are  not  less  than  ten  feet.  If  there  are  stair  halls 
enclosed  by  fireproof  partitions  as  herein  recommended  the  num- 


184  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

her  of  occupants  may  be  increased  by  one  person  for  each  3  square 
feet  of  floor  area  of  such  halls  on  each  floor. 

Fireproof  buildings  with  fire  walls  as  herein  recommended 
shall  have  a  capacity  per  floor  between  fire  walls  of  100  persons 
for  each  22  inches  of  width  of  clear  openings  in  such  walls,  plus 
12  persons  for  every  18  inches  of  width  of  stairs  leading  down, 
when  the  story  heights  are  not  less  than  10  feet;  provided,  how- 
ever, that  the  clear  spaces  on  each  side  of  the  said  fire  wall  are 
of  sufficient  area  to  accommodate  the  occupants  of  an  adjoining 
space  in  addition  to  its  own  occupants  on  the  basis  of  at  least  3 
square  feet  of  floor  area  per  person. 

In  General:  Outside  fire-escapes  and  elevators  are  not  to  be 
considered  in  determining  the  number  of  persons  that  may  occupy 
any  floor  in  any  building.  In  case  there  are  winders  in  any 
stairs  the  capacity  of  the  stairways  stall  be  estimated  at  10  per 
cent  less  for  each  winder,  but  the  total  deduction  for  winders 
shall  in  no  case  exceed  50  per  cent  of  the  capacity  of  the  same 
width  of  stairs  without  winders. 

Stairways  steeper  than  herein  provided  shall  have  their  capac- 
ities reduced  10  per  cent  for  each  5  degrees  that  the  pitch  exceeds 
45  degrees. 

No  provision  herein  is  to  be  construed  to  legalize  more  persons 
to  occupy  any  floor  in  any  building  than  is  permitted  under  the 
State  Labor  Law,  which  requires  250  cubic  feet  of  space  for  each 
person. 

Nothing  in  these  recommendations  is  to  be  construed  as  apply- 
ing to  theatres,  motion  picture  theatres  or  opera  houses,  which 
are  elsewhere  especially  provided  for,  or  to  tenement  houses  which 
are  especially  provided  for  in  the  Tenement  House  Act. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  185 

CODE  FOR  NEW  BUILDINGS,  ADDITIONS,   ALTERA- 

TIONS,  ETC. 

FIRE  WALLS. 

A  fire  wall  shall  be  construed  to  be  a  wall  constructed  of  com- 
mon brick,  porous  terra  cotta  brick  without  cellular  spaces,  or 
reinforced  Portland  cement  concrete,  having  at  each  floor  level 
one  or  more  openings  closed  or  protected  by  fire  doors  as  herein 
provided. 

Fire  walls  shall  in  all  cases  be  located  so  that  at  least  one 
continuous  stairway  or  fire  tower,  with  an  exit  to  the  street  (and 
where  practicable  one  or  more  elevators),  shall  be  on  each  side 
of  the  fire  wall. 

If  a  standard  equipment  of  automatic  sprinklers  is  installed 
throughout  any  building,  the  allowable  floor  area  between  fire 
walls  may  be  greater  by  fifty  per  cent  than  those  stated  in  this 
section. 

Xon-Firep ro of  Buildings : 

In  non-fireproof  buildings,  the  said  fire  walls  shall  be  at  least 
twelve  inches  in  thickness  and  shall  extend  continuously  from 
the  cellar  floor  through  the  entire  building  and  to  at  least  three 
feet  from  the  roof,  and  be  coped.  If  the  fire  wall  is  used  as  a 
bearing  wall,  the  wood  beams  shall  be  beveled  and  shall  not  come 
nearer  to  each  other  or  to  the  opposite  sides  of  the  fire  wall  than 
six  inches  in  any  case.  No  openings  in  said  wall  shall  exceed 
66  inches  in  width  or  60  square  feet  in  area,  and  no  two  openings 
in  the  same  wall  and  at  the  same  floor  level  shall  be  nearer  than 
40  feet  center  to  center.  Every  opening  in  said  fire  wall  shall 
be  closed  and  protected  by  an  approved  standard  fire  door  clos- 
ing automatically  on  each  side  of  the  wall.  A  cement,  stone, 
iron,  or  other  incombustible  floor  finish  shall  be  provided  at  every 
opening  in  the  fire  wall  for  the  full  thickness  of  said  wall,  so 
as  to  completely  separate  the  woodwork  of  the  floors  on  each  side 
of  the  fire  wall. 

In  every  non-fireproof  factory  building  hereafter  erected,  the 
floor  area  between  fire  walls  shall  not  exceed  the  following:  When 


186  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

fronting  on  one  street,  5,000  square  feet;  when  fronting  on  two 
streets,  7,500  square  feet ;  when  fronting  on  three  or  more  streets, 
10,000  square  feet. 

Firepoof  Buildings: 

In  all  fireproof  buildings  hereafter  erected,  the  fire  walls  shall 
be  not  less  than  eight  inches  in  thickness,  and  shall  be  superim- 
posed one  above  the  other  from  the  cellar  floor  to  the  underside 
of  the  fireproof  roof.  Said  fire  walls  shall  be  built  of  the  same 
material  and  in  the  same  manner  as  specified  in  non-fireproof 
buildings,  except  that  the  openings  may  be  protected  by  approved 
metal  covered  wood  doors  hung  on  each  side  of  said  wall. 

In  the  case  of  fireproof  buildings  with  incombustible  floor 
finish  and  with  metal  or  metal  covered  window  frames  and  sash 
(closing  automatically,  with  wire  glazing  and  metal  or  metal  cov- 
ered doors,  trim,  casings,  etc.),  the  fire  walls  shall  be  of  the 
same  materials  as  specified  in  this  section,  but  may  be  reduced 
to  four  inches  in  thickness,  exclusive  of  plaster,  and  the  open- 
ings protected  by  two  hollow  metal  doors  hung  on  each  side  or  by 
one  metal-covered  wood  door  hung  on  either  side.  In  these  build- 
ings, the  fire  walls  need  not  necessarily  be  superimposed. 

The  floor  area  between  fire  walls  in  every  fireproof  factory 
building  hereafter  erected  shall  not  exceed  the  following:  When 
fronting  on  one  street,  7,000  square  feet;  when  fronting  on  two 
streets,  10,000  square  feet;  when  fronting  on  three  or  more 
street,  12,500  square  feet. 

INTERIOK  STAIRS  —  TOWER  FIRE  ESCAPES. 
X on- fireproof  Buildings: 

In  all  non-fireproof  buildings  hereafter  erected,  the  number  of 
stairs  in  each  story  shall  be  regulated  by  the  area  of  each  story 
measured  on  the  outside  of  the  walls,  except  as  hereinafter  men- 
tioned. All  stairways  shall  be  continuous  from  the  roof  to  the 
ground  floor  leved.  Where  more  than  one  stairway  is  required, 
the  stairs  shall  be  as  remote  from  each  other  as  possible.  When 
the  ground  floor  area  exceeds  that  of  the  floors  above  it,  the  number 
of  stairs  required  shall  be  determined  by  the  area  of  a  typical 
floor  of  those  above  the  ground  floor. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  187 

All  stairs  shall  be  enclosed  by  walls  not  less  than  four  inches 
in  thickness. 

The  width  of  the  stairs,  landings,  and  platforms,  shall  in  no 
case  be  less  than  forty-four  inches  from  the  wall  to  the  center  of 
the  hand  rail,  or  from  center  to  center  of  parallel  hand  rails. 

All  stairs  shall  have  treads  and  risers  of  uniform  width  and 
height  throughout  each  flight,  and  the  rise  shall  be  not  more  than 
eight  inches,  and  the  tread  exclusive  of  nosings  not  less  than 
nine  inches.  There  shall  be  no  winders  in  any  public  stairway. 

All  stairs  shall  be  provided  with  substantial  banisters  or  rail- 
ings and  hand  rails,  all  of  which  shall  be  securely  fastened.  Each 
flight  of  stairs  in  every  story  which  exceeds  a  height  of  twelve 
feet  in  the  clear,  shall  have  a  proper  intermediate  landing.  The 
landings  of  stairs  which  have  a  straight  run  shall  be  placed  ap- 
proximately at  the  center  portion  thereof. 

The  space  beneath  every  staircase  shall  be  left  entirely  open 
and  be  kept  free  from  incumbrance,  except  that  the  space  between 
any  first  story  staircase,  from  the  foot  of  same  to  a  point  on  the 
soffit,  which  is  not  more  than  six  feet  above  the  floor,  may  be 
surrounded  by  an  enclosure  which  shall  be  without  any  openings. 

A  tower  fire-escape  or  fire  tower  shall  consist  of  a  stairway 
completely  enclosed  from  top  to  bottom  by  walls  of  brick,  ma- 
sonry, or  Portland  cement  concrete  not  less  than  twelve  inches 
thick.  The  tower  shall  extend  from  the  sidewalk,  court,  or  yard 
level  to  the  roof,  and  the  walls  of  the  tower  shall  extend  high 
enough  above  the  roof  to  form  a  bulkhead.  Fire  towers  may  be 
either  inside  or  outside  of  the  building,  but  there  shall  be  no 
opening  in  any  wall  separating  the  tower  fire  escape  from  the 
building.  There  shall  be  access  to  every  tower  fire  escape  from 
every  story  of  the  building  by  means  of  outside  balconies 
of  steel,  iron,  or  masonry.  Every  balcony  shall  be  at  least  three 
feet  eight  inches  wide  in  the  clear,  and  shall  be  provided  with  a 
substantial,  solid  and  fireproof  floor,  and  fireproof  wall  railing 
not  less  than  three  feet  or  more  than  five  feet  in  height.  Ac- 
cess to  the  balcony  from  the  building  and  to  the  fire  tower  from 
the  balcony  shall  be  by  hollow  metal  or  metal-covered  wood  doors, 
jambs  and  casings,  with  wired  glass  where  glass  is  used.  The 
sills  of  these  doors  shall  be  not  more  than  four  inches  above  the 


188  THE  FIRE  HAZAKD. 

floor  of  the  building,  the  floor  of  the  balcony,  and  the  landing 
in  the  fire  tower.  The  said  doors  shall  be  self-closing,  at  least 
three  feet  wide  and  swing  outward  on  the  balcony  and  inward 
from  the  balcony  to  the  fire  tower  and  shall  be  provided  with  locks 
or  latches  with  visible  fastenings  requiring  no  keys  to  open  them 
in  passing  from  the  building  into  the  fire  tower.  At  every  door- 
way leading  to  a  balcony,  the  words  "  Fire  Tower  Exit  "  shall 
be  marked  in  legible  letters  not  less  than  eight  inches  high,  and 
at  times  when  artificial  lighting  is  necessary,  a  red  light  shall  be 
provided  to  indicate  each  such  exit.  The  landings  in  the  fire 
tower  shall  be  of  such  width  that  the  doors  opening  into  the 
tower  shall  not  reduce  the  free  passageway  of  the  landings  so  as 
to  be  less  than  the  width  of  the  stairs. 

Stairways  of  the  fire  towers  shall  comply  with  the  requirements 
of  this  section  for  stairways  in  fireproof  buildings.  There  shall 
be  a  direct  exit  from  every  tower  to  the  roof  and  to  the  sidewalk, 
or  through  a  fireproof  passage  or  tunnel  to  the  sidewalk.  Said 
passageway  shall  be  not  less  than  three  feet  eight  inches  wide  and 
six  feet  six  inches  high  and  without  steps,  all  changes  in  level 
being  overcome  by  grades. 

At  each  story  every  tower  fire  escape  shall  be  provided  with 
natural  light  either  by  suitable  self-closing  windows  of  wired 
glass  in  metal  frames  or  through  wire  glass  panels  in  the  doors. 
The  area  of  glass  shall  be  at  least  eight  square  feet  at  each  story. 
There  shall  be,  in  addition,  both  in  the  tower  fire-escape  and  in 
the  passageway,  if  any,  an  electric  lighting  system,  which  shall 
furnish  adequate  light  and  be  so  arranged  that  the  opening  of 
any  door  into  the  tower  shall  cause  all  the  electric  lights  to  burn. 

All  balconies,  stairways,  passageways  or  tunnels,  and  all  doors 
leading  to  fire  tower  balconies  shall  at  all  times  be  kept  free  from 
incumbrances  and  obstructions  as  required  by  the  provisions  of 
the  State  Labor  Law  relating  to  fire-escapes. 

In  every  factory  or  workshop  hereafter  erected  or  altered, 
stairs  and  fire  towers  shall  be  provided  as  follows:  (a)  When 
the  area  does  not  exceed  2,500  square  feet,  there  shall  be  at 
least  one  stairway;  when  the  building  is  to  be  occupied  by  more 
than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  story,  if  only  one  stairway  is 
provided  it  shall  be  of  fireproof  construction,  with  stair  hall  and 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  189 

fireproof  inclosure  walls  as  specified  elsewhere  herein  under 
Stair  Halls;  (b)  When  the  area  exceeds  2,500  square  feet  and 
does  not  exceed  5,000  square  feet,  there  shall  be  at  least  two 
stairways;  (c)  When  the  area  exceeds  5,000  square  feet,  and  does 
not  exceed  10,000  square  feet,  there  shall  be  at  least  three  stair- 
ways, and  when  the  building  is  occupied  above  the  first  story  by 
more  than  500  persons  each  stairway  shall  not  be  less  than  five 
feet  six  inches  in  width;  (d)  When  the  area  exceeds  10,000 
square  feet  there  shall  be  at  least  four  stairways,  and  when  the 
building  is  occupied  above  the  first  story  by  more  than  1,000 
persons  each  stairway  shall  be  not  less  than  five  feet  six  inches 
in  width.  In  case  any  of  the  above-mentioned  buildings  are 
more  than  three  stories  or  40  feet  high,  tower  fire-escape  will 
be  required  as  follows:  When  the  floor  area  above  the  ground 
floor  equals  2,500  square  feet  or  less,  and  if  occupied  above  the 
first  story  by  200  persons  or  more,  there  shall  be  at  least  one 
tower  fire-escape.  When  the  area  is  between  2,500  square  feet 
and  10,000  square  feet,  there  shall  be  at  least  one  tower  fire- 
escape,  and  for  every  additional  10,000  square  feet  or  fraction 
thereof,  there  shall  be  one  additional  tower  fire-escape. 

When  the  area  of  any  floor  exceeds  the  above  requirements  for 
four  continuous  lines  of  stairs,  such  additional  stairways,  tower 
fire-escapes,  fire  walls,  or  other  means  of  exit  and  provisions  for 
safety  shall  be  provided  as  the  Superintendent  of  Buildings,  or 
other  municipal  or  state  bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction 
shall  direct. 

If  three  or  more  flights  of  stairs  are  required,  one  tower  fire- 
escape,  erected  in  accordance  with  this  section,  shall  be  considered 
the  equivalent  of  one  interior  flight  of  stairs  as  herein  provided, 
but  no  open  fire-escapes  shall  be  accepted  in  lieu  of  such  stairs. 

Fireproof  Buildings: 

In  every  fireproof  building  hereafter  erected,  the  entire  interior 
stairways,  including  all  platforms  and  landings  within  the  enclosure 
walls,  except  the  hand  rails,  shall  be  iron,  steel,  brick,  terra  cotta 
or  other  approved  and  equally  fire-resisting  materials.  The  width 
of  the  stairs,  landings,  and  platforms  and  the  width  and  height  of 


190  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

the  treads  and  risers  respectively  shall  be  as  provided  in  this  section. 

In  case  the  treads,  landings  or  platforms  of  any  metal  stairs  are 
of  slate,  marble,  or  other  stone,  there  shall  be  placed  directly  under- 
neath of  each  tread,  landing  or  platform  for  their  entire  length  and 
width,  a  steel  or  wrought-iron  plate  solid,  or  with  openings  not 
exceeding  four  square  inches  in  same,  of  adequate  strength,  but 
in  no  case  less  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  securely 
fastened  to  the  stair  strings  with  bolts  or  rivets,  or  to  both  the  stair 
strings  and  the  risers  if  the  treads  be  more  than  three  feet  eight 
inches  long.  If  the  treads,  landings  and  platforms  are  solidly  sup- 
p.Tted  for  their  entire  length  and  width  by  masonry,  concrete  or 
other  fireproof  material?,  steel  supports  shall  not  be  required. 

In  every  fireproof  building  hereafter  erected,  the  number  of 
interior  stairs 'shall  be  as  provided  in  this  section  for  non-fireproof 
buildings,  except  that  fire  towers  shall  not  be  required.  In  fireproof 
buildings  with  fire  walls,  as  herein  specified,  only  one  continuous 
stairway  with  exits  to  the  roof  and  the  street  will  be  required  in 
each  space  or  section  of  the  building  between  vertical  fire  walls, 
and  exterior  walls;  but  said  stairways,  landings  and  platforms  shall 
be  at  least  five  feet  six  inches  in  width  and  built  in  accordance  with 
this  section. 

STAIR   HALLS;   ENCLOSURES   FOR   STAIRWAYS  AND   ELEVATORS; 
DUMBWAITERS;  LIGHT  AND  VENT  SHAFTS. 

Stairways  and  Elevator  Halls: 

In  every  factory  building  hereafter  erected  to  be  used  or  occu- 
pied by  more  than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  story,  and  which  is 
exempted  from  tower  fire-escapes  or  fire  walls  as  herein  elsewhere 
required,  the  stairways  shall  be  of  fireproof  construction  as  pro- 
vided herein  under  Interior  Stairs,  and  said  building  shall  have 
enclosed  stair  and  elevator  halls  around  the  stairways  and  ele- 
vators in  each  story,  including  the  first  and  cellar  stories.  The 
total  areas  of  such  halls  shall  not  be  less  than  three  times  the 
total  floor  opening  areas  of  the  stairway  and  elevator  shafts  in 
each  story. 

The  enclosing  walls  of  the  stair  and  elevator  halls  and  the  door 
and  window  openings  in  the  same  shall  be  as  provided  under  stair- 
way and  elevator  enclosures. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  191 

Said  stair  and  elevator  halls  shall  have  finished  floor  surfaces  of 
stone,  tiling,  cement,  rock  asphalt,  or  other  approved  incombustible 
material. 

Stairv:ays  and  Elevator  Enclosures-' 

All  fireproof  stairways  and  every  elevator  hereafter  erected  shall 
be  enclosed  in  fireproof  shafts  throughout  their  entire  height.  The 
enclosing  partitions  shall  be  of  brick,  terra  cotta  brick  without  cellu- 
lar spaces,  or  reinforced  concrete,  and  supported  by  suitable  founda- 
tions of  masonry,  concrete  or  steel. 

The  bottom  of  every  elevator  shaft  and  the  top  of  such  shaft, 
if  it  does  not  extend  through  the  roof,  shall  be  fireproof.  If  any 
th-vator  shaft  in  a  non-fireproof  building  extends  to  the  top  floor, 
it  shall  be  carried  through  the  roof  and  three  feet  above  it. 

If  not  used  as  bearing  walls,  the  partitions  enclosing  stairways 
and  elevator  shafts  shall  be  not  less  than  eight  inches  in  thickness 
for  the  uppermost  forty  feet,  and  shall  increase  four  inches  in  thick- 
ness for  each  additional  forty  feet  or  part  thereof ;  or  when  wholly 
supported  by  suitable  steel  framing,  at  vertical  intervals  of  not 
over  twenty-four  feet,  they  may  be  eight  inches  in  thickness 
throughout  their  height,  provided  vertical  steel  structural  mem- 
bers weighing  not  less  than  three  pounds  per  lineal  foot  are  framed 
at  each  corner  of  the  shaft,  and  that  in  the  case  of  elevator  shafts 
containing  more  than  one  car,  similar  intermediate  vertical  mem- 
bers be  framed  opposite  the  divisions  between  the  cars;  the  en- 
closing partitions  in  all  cases  to  be  thoroughly  anchored  to  said 
vertical  members;  or  in  the  case  of  fireproof  buildings  with  in- 
combustible floor  surfaces,  trim  and  finish,  with  supporting  and 
vertical  steel  framing,  and  when  built  of  materials  all  as  herein 
specified,  the  enclosing  partitions  of  stairways  and  elevators  may 
be  four  inches  thick. 

The  inside  surfaces  of  all  elevator  shafts  when  finished  shall  be 
flush,  smooth,  and  free  from  projecting  sills,  lintels,  or  off-sets. 

The  door  openings  through  stairways  and  elevator  enclosures  in 
each  story  shall  be  provided  with  approved  self-closing  fireproof 
doors.  Window  opening's  in  said  enclosures  shall  open  to  the  outer 
air,  and  shall  be  of  approved  hollow  metal  or  metal-covered  frames 
and  automatically  closing  sash,  with  wired  glass.  Where  elevator 


192  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

enclosures  extend  through  the  roof  of  a  building,  the  roof  of  the 
enclosures  shall  be  of  approved  fireproof  material  with  a  skylight 
of  at  least  three-quarters  of  the  area  of  the  shaft,  the  glass  to  be 
not  more  than  one-eighth  of  an  inch  thick  and  protected  above  and 
below  with  strong  wire  netting  set  in  iron  frames ;  but  wired  glass 
shall  not  be  used  in  skylights  over  elevator  enclosures. 

When  the  compartment  containing  the  machinery  for  operating 
the  elevator  communicates  with  the  elevator  shaft,  said  compartment 
shall  also  be  enclosed  in  fireproof  partitions  as  required  for  the 
elevator  shaft,  and  shall  have  standard  fire  doors. 

Enclosures  for  Dumbwaiters: 

All  dumbwaiter  shafts  hereafter  placed  in  any  building,  except 
shafts  which  do  not  extend  more  than  one  story  above  the  cellar 
or  basement  floor  in  dwelling,  shall  be  enclosed  by  walls  of  brick, 
reinforced  concrete,  terra  cotta  or  other  equally  fireproof  material 
at  least  four  inches  thick.  Such  walls  or  partitions  shall  rest  upon 
masonry  or  concrete  foundations  or  upon  suitable  steel  framing. 

Where  the  dumbwaiter  shaft  extends  into  the  cellar  or  lowest 
story  of  a  non-fireproof  building,  it  shall  be  enclosed  in  that  story 
with  walls  of  masonry  not  less  than  eight  inches  thick. 

The  bottom  of  all  dumbwaiter  shafts  shall  be  fireproof,  and 
where  such  shaft  does  not  extend  through  the  roof,  the  top  of  the 
shaft  shall  be  fireproof. 

When  dumbwaiter  shafts  extend  through  the  roof,  they  shall 
extend  at  least  three  feet  above  the  roof,  and  shall  be  covered  with 
fireproof  material,  and  have  a  metal  frame  skylight  covering  at 
least  three-fourths  the  area  of  the  shaft. 

All  openings  in  shaft  walls  shall  be  provided  with  self-closing 
standard  metal  doors,  with  metal  jambs  and  trim. 

Light  and  Vent  Shafts:  ^ 

In  all  buildings  hereafter  erected  or  altered,  except  frame  build- 
ings, the  walls  or  partitions  forming  interior  light  or  vent  shafts 
shall  be  not  less  than  four  inches  in  thickness,  exclusive  of  plaster. 
The  walls  of  all  light  and  vent  shafts  whether  exterior  or  interior, 
shall  be  carried  up  not  less  than  three  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
roof  and  shall  be  coped. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  193 

STANDPIPES;  AUTOMATIC  SPRINKLERS;  FIRE  SHUTTERS 
AND  DOORS. 

Standpipes  and  Fire  Applicances: 

In  every  existing  factory  building  exceeding  85  and  not  over  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  height,  which  is  not  provided  with 
a  three-inch  or  larger  standpipe,  and  in  all  factory  buildings  here- 
after erected  exceeding  85  and  not  exceeding  125  feet  in  height, 
there  shall  be  provided  a  vertical  standpipe  not  less  than  four  inches 
in  diameter. 

In  every  existing  factory  building  exceeding  125  feet  in  height 
which  is  not  provided  with  a  three-inch  or  larger  standpipe,  and  in 
all  buildings  hereafter  erected  exceeding  125  feet  in  height,  there 
shall  be  provided  a  vertical  standpipe  not  less  than  six  inches  in 
diameter,  or  two  vertical  standpipes  not  less  than  four  inches  in 
diameter. 

All  standpipes  now  erected  or  hereafter  erected  shall  have  on  each 
floor  in  the  stair  hall,  if  practicable,  a  two  and  one-half  inch  hose 
connection,  with  hand  valve,  and  upon  an  approved  rack  or  reel, 
sufficient  hose  to  reach  any  part  of  the  floor.  There  shall  be  sufficient 
hose  at  the  valve  on  the  top  floor  to  reach  any  part  of  the  roof. 
Standpipes  and  fittings1  shall  be  of  galvanized  wrought  iron  or  steel, 
or  of  brass,  shall  have  screwed  joints,  and  shall  be  able  to  safely 
withstand  a  water  pressure  of  300  pounds  per  square  inch  when 
installed  and  ready  for  service.  Standpipes  shall  be  located,  con- 
structed and  arranged  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  municipal  or  state 
bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction. 

In  buildings  over  100  feet  deep  and  fronting  one  or  more  streets 
there  shall  be  a  standpipe  at  each  end  of  the  building;  and  in  build- 
ings exceeding  5,000  square  feet  in  area  there  shall  be  one  stand- 
pipe  for  each  stairway.  Where  two  or  more  standpipes  are  re- 
quired, they  shall  be  connected  at  the  base  by  pipes  the  size  of  the 
largest  standpipes,  so  that  the  water  from  any  source  will  supply 
all  standpipes.  Hangers  and  supports  shall  be  of  ample  strength, 
and  be  securely  braced  to  avoid  vibration. 

Hose  shall  be  two  and  one-half  inches  in  diameter  and  able  to 
safely  withstand  a  water  pressure  of  200  pounds  per  square  inch. 
It  shall  be  in  fifty  foot  lengths,  and  have  at  each  end  a  standard 
7 


194  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

coupling  with  the  thread  used  by  the  Fire  Department,  and  shall 
have  at  least  a  three-quarter  inch  standard  nozzle.  There  shall  be 
two  hose  spanners  at  each  hose  connection. 

Every  standpipe  shall  have  at  the  street  level  a  Siamese  connection 
with  an  outlet  the  same  size  as  the  standpipe.  Each  connection  for 
hose  shall  have  an  area  equal  to  one-half  of  the  standpipes  and  the 
thread  on  the  hose  connections  shall  be  that  used  by  the  Fire 
Department. 

In  every  building  hereafter  erected  each  standpipe  shall  be  carried 
up  with  each  floor  after  the  structure  has  reached  a  height  of  85  feet. 
Each  standpipe  shall  be  fitted  with  an  outside  Siamese  connection  in 
a  proper  and  accessible  place,  and  on  each  floor  above  the  second 
floor  regulation  hose  outfits  shall  be  provided  as  the  work  pro- 
gresses. The  upper  end  of  each  riser  shall  be  securely  capped  at 
all  times  except  when  work  on  the  standpipe  is  actually  in  progress. 

In  each  connecting  pipe  just  inside  the  building,  in  a  horizontal 
section,  shall  be  placed  a  straightway  check  valve,  but  not  a  gate 
valve.  A  drip  pipe  and  valve  shall  be  placed  between  the  check 
valve  and  the  steamer  connection.  Besides  the  steamer  connec- 
tions, the  standpipes  may  be  supplied  with  water  from  the  street 
mains  at  points  where  the  pressure  therein  is  sufficient,  and  if 
required  by  the  Fire  Commissioner  or  other  municipal  or  state 
officer  having  jurisdiction,  they  shall  be  connected  with  an  ap- 
proved automatic  fire  pump  with  a  capacity  of  not  less  than  500 
gallons  per  minute,  a  suitable  elevated  tank  or  an  approved  pres- 
sure tank  equipment  of  not  less  than  5,000  gallons  capacity. 

Where  a  standpipe  is  connected  to  a  tank  there  shall  be  a 
straightway  check  valve  in  a  horizontal  section  of  pipe  between 
the  first  hose  outlet  in  the  connecting  pipe  and  tank.  The  tank 
shall  be  supplied  by  a  separate  pipe,  and  not  through  the  stand- 
pipe. 

Pumps  which  supply  standpipes  shall  be  placed  not  less  than 
two  feet  above  the  floor  level,  and  boilers  which  supply  steam  for 
such  pumps  shall  be  protected  against  the  flooding  of  their  fires 
to  a  level  at  least  one  foot  above  the  general  floor  level.  All  elec- 
tric wiring  for  fire  pumps  and  elevators  shall  be  so  installed  as 
to  secure  it  against  injury  by  fire. 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  195 

In  every  building  exceeding  85  feet  in  height  at  least  one 
elevator  shall  at  all  times  be  in  readiness  for  immediate  use  by 
the  Fire  Department. 

All  existing  factory  buildings,  and  those  hereafter  erected, 
which  exceed  85  feet  in  height  shall  be  provided  with  such 
wrenches,  fire  tanks  and  fire  extinguishers,  buckets,  axes  and  pails 
as  may  be  required  by  the  Fire  Department. 

All  valves,  hose,  tools  and  other  appliances  provided  for  in  this 
section  as  required  by  the  Fire  Commissioner  or  other  munici- 
pal or  state  officer  having  jurisdiction,  shall  be  kept  in  perfect 
working  order,  and  at  least  once  a  month  the  person  in  charge 
of  the  building  shall  make  an  inspection  to  make  sure  that  they 
are  in  good  working  order  and  ready  for  immediate  use  by  the 
Fire  Department. 

Plans  showing  location,  size  and  connections,  with  duplicate 
descriptions  of  all  standpipe  installations,  shall  be  furnished  to 
the  Fire  Commissioner  or  other  municipal  or  state  officer  having 
jurisdiction.  These  drawings  must  be  to  scale,  and  shall  con- 
sist of  such  floor  plans  and  sections  as  may  be  necessary,  to  show 
clearly  all  such  work  to  be  done,  and  must  show  all  partitions, 
stairways,  inclosures  and  elevator  shafts.  The  work  of  installing 
a  standpipe  shall  not  be  commenced  or  proceeded  with  until  said 
drawings  and  descriptions,  in  detail,  shall  have  been  approved 
by  the  Fire  Commissioner,  or  other  municipal  or  state  officer  hav- 
ing jurisdiction.  No  modifications  of  the  approved  drawings  and 
descriptions  shall  be  made  until  after  new  plans  and  descriptions 
covering  the  proposed  change  or  changes  are  similarly  filed  and 
approved. 

Automatic   Sprinklers: 

In  every  non-fireproof  factory  huilding  the  height  of  which 
exceeds  three  stories  or  forty  feet,  which  is  to  be  occupied  by  more 
than  200  persons  above  the  first  story,  and  in  every  fireproof 
building  which  is  to  be  occupied  by  more  than  200  persons  above 
the  seventh  story  and  which  is  not  equipped  with  approved  fire- 
proof window  frames  and  sash  (closing  automatically)  with  wired 
glass,  incombustible  floor  finish,  trim,  etc.,  there  shall  be  provided 
a  complete  equipment  of  automatic  sprinklers,  which  shall  be 


196  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

satisfactory  to  the  municipal  or  state  bureaus  or  officers  having 
jurisdiction,  in  each  story  and  extending  the  full  depth  and  breadth 
of  the  building.  Said  sprinkler  pipes  shall  be  connected  with  a 
pipe  not  less  than  four  inches  in  diameter  leading  to  the  outside 
of  building,  and  there  provided  with  an  approved  Siamese 
steamer  connection,  the  latter  to  be  installed  under  the  require- 
ments, and  to  be  under  the  control  of  and  for  the  use  of  the  Fire 
Department.  A  suitable  iron  plate  with  raised  letters  shall  be 
attached  to  the  said  steamer  connection,  or  to  the  wall  opposite  it, 
reading  "Automatic  Sprinklers." 

In  every  building  used  or  occupied  for  business  or  manufac- 
turing there  shall  be  provided  along  the  ceiling  line  of  each  story 
below  the  first  story  an  equipment  of  automatic  sprinklers  which 
shall  be  satisfactory  to  the  Fire  Commissioner,  or  other  muni- 
cipal or  State  officer  having  jurisdiction.  The  inlets  of  these 
supply  pipes  shall  be  placed  near  the  Siamese  connections  for  their 
standpipes.  These  supply  pipes  shall  be  fitted  with  a  standard 
Fire  Department  connection.  On  the  wall  near  each  supply  pipe 
or  attached  to  said  pipe  shall  be  placed  a  suitable  plate  to  read, 
"  This  pipe  connects  to  automatic  sprinklers  in  the  cellar." 

Fire  Shutters  and  Doors: 

Every  factory  with  masonry  walls,  more  than  25  feet  in  height 
shall  have  standard  fire  doors,  blinds  or  shutters  or  their  equiva- 
lent, as  required  in  this  section,  on  every  exterior  window  and 
opening  above  the  first  floor,  except  on  openings  fronting  on 
streets,  which  are  more  than  thirty  feet  in  width,  or  where  no 
other  building  is  within  thirty  feet  of  such  opening. 

Where  an  approved  fireproof  window  frame  and  automatically 
closing  sash  glazed  with  wired  glass  is  installed,  fire  shutters  may 
be  omitted. 

At  least  one  row  of  shutters  vertically  in  every  three  vertical 
rows  on  the  front  window  openings  shall  be  so  arranged  that  they 
can  be  readily  opened  from  the  outside. 

In  every  fireproof  factory  building  hereafter  erected  and  reg- 
ularly occupied  by  more  than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  story, 
the  window  frames  and  sash  shall  be  of  metal  or  wood  covered 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  19Y 

with  metal,  the  sash  closing  automatically  and  glazed  with  wire 
glass. 

All  windows  or  doors  opening  on  fire  escapes  in  all  buildings 
hereafter  erected  shall  be  fireproof  as  provided  in  this  section. 

Shutters  and  their  hinges  shall  be  kept  free  from  rust  and 
corrosion,  and  kept  "well  painted. 

Rolling  iron  or  steel  shutters  shall  be  carefully  counter-bal- 
anced, and  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  readily  opened  from  the 
outside. 

All  buildings  hereafter  erected  or  altered,  except  those  ex- 
empted in  the  first  paragraph  of  this  section,  which  have  open- 
ings in  interior  walls,  shall  when  required  by  the  Superintendent 
of  Buildings  be  provided  with  standard  fire  doors  on  both  sides 
of  the  wall ;  such  fire  doors  to  have  approved  self-closing  devices. 
All  occupants  of  buildings  shall  close  all  exterior  and  interior  fire 
doors  and  shutters  at  the  close  of  each  business  day. 

GENERAL    RECOMMENDATIONS. 

It  is  recommended  that  all  fireproof  factory  buildings  exceed- 
ing 85  feet  in  height  be  required  to  have  the  floor  surfaces  of  in- 
combustible finish,  and  all  doors,  trim  and  interior  finish  of  fire- 
proof materials,  all  window  frames  and  sash  to  be  of  metal  or 
metal-covered  wood,  the  sash  to  close  automatically  and  be 
glazed  with  wire  glass. 

It  is  recommended  that  all  industries  whose  product  or  raw 
materials  are  highly  inflammable,  such  as  celluloid,  etc.,  be  pro- 
hibited from  occupying  ordinary  factory  buildings.  Concerns 
manufacturing  such  goods  should  be  required  to  occupy  separate 
or  detached  buildings,  in  which  the  following  special  features  are 
provided:  (1)  Fireproof  stock  and  supply  rooms  with  approved 
fireproof  doors  and  ventilation  to  the  outside.  (2)  Fireproof 
receptacles  for  all  waste  and  rubbish.  (3)  Metal  or  fireproof 
work  tables.  (4)  Artificial  light  without  exposed  flames.  (5) 
Hot  water  heating  system.  (6)  Requirements  prescribed  by  the 
proper  jurisdictions  permitting  only  a  designated,  limited  quantity 
of  inflammable  materials  or  goods  in  the  work  room. 


198  THE  FIRE  HAZARD. 

It  is  recommended  that  approved  fire  tanks  of  not  less  than  15 
gallons  capacity,  with  included  buckets,  be  provided  to  comply 
with  the  requirements  of  the  insurance  and  underwriting  rules, 
instead  of  the  ordinary  fire  buckets. 

It  is  recommended  that  fireproof  receptacles  be  required  in 
every  factory  for  all  combustible  scraps,  cuttings,  rubbish  and 
other  waste;  and  that  it  be  made  compulsory  that  a  sufficient 
number  of  employees  be  detailed  to  collect  such  waste  and  keep 
the  premises  clean  during  the  working  hours,  such  waste  and 
rubbish  to  be  removed  from  the  premises  at  the  end  of  each  work- 
ing day. 

It  is  recommended  that  firms  and  individuals  be  obliged  to  obtain 
a  license  from  the  proper  bureau  or  jurisdiction,  subject  to  such 
regulations  as  may  be  drafted  by  such  bureau,  before  they  are 
permitted  to  engage  in  business.  Before  such  license  shall  be 
issued  and  before  any  premises  can  be  occupied  as  a  factory  em- 
ploying more  than  ten  persons  exclusive  of  the  office  employees, 
a  complete  detailed  plan  shall  be  filed  and  be  approved  by  the 
municipal  or  state  bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction.  Such 
plan  shall  be  on  a  scale  not  smaller  than  one-quarter  of  an  inch 
to  the  foot,  and  shall  show  the  exact  location  and  correct  dimen- 
sions of  all  exits,  machinery  or  other  equipment,  light  fixtures, 
electric  switchboard,  work  tables,  permanent  and  temporary  par- 
titions, material  and  supply  rooms,  stock  rooms,  drying  rooms, 
toilet  rooms,  hat  and  cloak  rooms,  shelving,  fire  appliances,  desks 
and  all  other  furniture  except  chairs  or  seats. 

It  is  recommended  that  all  new  factory  buildings  intended  to 
be  occupied  by  more  than  fifty  persons  above  the  first  floor  be  of 
fireproof  construction. 

It  is  recommended  that  smoking  in  factories  in  which  the  raw 
materials  or  products  are  of  a  combustible  nature  be  made  a  crime 
punishable  by  law. 

It  is  recommended  that  the  sale  of  all  ordinary  matches  be  pro- 
hibited, and  that  safety  matches  only  be  permitted  on  sale  in  the 
state. 

It  is  recommended  that  gasoline,  naphtha,  and  other  highly 
inflammable  and  volatile  liquids  be  prohibited  in  factory  build- 


THE  FIRE  HAZARD.  199 

ings.  Where  non-inflammable  substitutes  are  not  practicable, 
limited  quantities  to  be  fixed  by  the  proper  jurisdiction,  to  be 
permitted  in  approved  safety  cans  and  under  conditions  to  be  pre- 
scribed by  the  Bureau  of  Fire  Prevention,  or  other  municipal  or 
state  bureaus  or  officers  having  jurisdiction. 

Respectfully  submited, 

H.  F.  J.  PORTER, 
Adviser  on  Fire  Matters  to  the  Commission. 


APPENDIX     III 


REPORT  ON  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS 
IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

By  GEOKGE  M.  PRICE,  M.  D. 


REPORT  ON  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS 
IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 


By  GEORGE  M.  PRICE,  M.  D. 

PAET  FIRST. 

THE  SANITARY  INSPECTION  OF  497  BAKERIES. 

I. 

Man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone,  but  it  is  his  chief  food  and 
"  staff  of  life."  Of  all  the  arts,  that  of  bread  making  is  the  most 
ancient.  Of  all  of  the  industries  indispensable  to  human  econ- 
omy, not  one  is  so  important  or  so  closely  related  to  the  health  of 
the  nation  as  that  of  making  our  "  daily  bread." 

In  spite  of  all  this  there  is  no  industry  that  has  achieved 
so  little  progress,  or  which  is  conducted  under  such  unsanitary 
conditions,  with  processes  so  elementary  and  archaic,  as  the  trade 
of  bread  baking. 

The  shocking  revelations  of  "  The  Jungle "  were  necessary 
before  belated  reforms  could  be  introduced  in  the  meat  packing 
trade.  One  hundred  and  forty-six  victims  perished  in  the  Tri- 
angle fire  before  New  York  was  aroused  to  the  e very-day  menace 
from  fires  in  loft  buildings.  The  unsavory  details  of  the  man- 
ufacture of  our  daily  bread  must  perhaps  be  made  public  before 
the  long  needed  reforms  in  the  trade  can  be  secured. 


On  April  18th,  1911,  the  Commissioner  of  Accounts  of  New 
York  City,  Mr.  Raymond  Fosdick,  issued  a  report  entitled  "  On 
the  Sanitary  Conditions  of  Bakeries  in  New  York,"  the  result 
of  an  inspection  of  one  hundred  and  forty-five  bakeries  made  in 
conjunction  with  the  Consumers'  League.  (1). 

Previous  to  the  appearance  of  this  report,  a  daily  newspaper 
made  an  independent  inspection  of  a  number  of  bakeries  in  this 
city,  and  daily  regaled  the  public  with  descriptions  and  photo- 
graphs of  the  findings  of  its  reporters. 


Note. —  Numbers  in  parenthesis  refer  to  the  bibliography,  page  238. 


204  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

As  this  subject  was  undoubtedly  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
State  Factory  Commission  appointed  "  to  investigate  existing  con- 
ditions under  which  manufacture  is  carried  on  as  to  matters  affect- 
ing the  health  and  safety  of  operatives,  and  of  the  general  public," 
an  investigation  was  undertaken  to  determine  existing  conditions 
and  to  recommend  remedial  legislation. 

Accordingly,  an  inspection  of  485  bakeries  (497  individual 
shops)  was  made  by  our  staff  of  inspectors. 

The  inspections  were  made  chiefly  between  the  hours  of  8  and 
12  P.  M.,  although  some  visits  were  made  during  the  earlier  hours 
of  the  day.  With  the  exception  of  six  large  factories,  the  bakeries 
inspected  were  all  located  in  cellars. 

The  inspection  of  bakeries  was  confined  to  the  cities  of  New 
York  and  Yonkers,  more  especially  to  the  Boroughs  of  Manhattan, 
Brooklyn  and  the  Bronx.  Practically  all  sections  of  these  boroughs 
were  covered. 

The  International  Bakers'  Union  and  its  locals  in  the  city  have 
closely  co-operated  with  the  Commission,  and  in  a  large  num- 
ber of  cases  sent  their  representatives  to  accompany  our  inspectors. 

Besides  the  sanitary  inspection  of  497  bakeries,  a  staff  of  physi- 
cians engaged  by  the  Commission  made  physical  examinations 
of  800  bakers.  These  examinations  were  made  during  working 
hours,  while  our  inspectors  investigated  the  sanitary  conditions 
of  the  shops.  This  report  is  therefore  based  on  the  results  of  the 
sanitary  inspection  of  497  bakeries,  and  upon  'the  examination 
of  800  bakers. 


IT. 

BREAD  MAKING  A  MUCH  INVESTIGATED  INDUSTRY. 

Bread  making  has  been  investigated  both  in  this  country  and 
abroad,  perhaps  more  than  any  other  industry. 

In  England,  the  agitation  against  unsanitary  bakeries  was 
begun  by  the  Journeymen-bakers  in  the  late  fifties  and  early  six- 
ties of  the  last  century.  In  the  "  Reports  of  the  Bakery  Trades 
in  Ireland,"  issued  in  1861,  and  "  Reports  Relating  to  the  Griev- 
ances of  the  Journeymen-bakers,"  in  England,  in  1862, 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  205 

these  conditions  are  vividly  described,  and  this  report, 
says  Marx,  (2),  ''  roused  not  the  heart  of  the  public, 
but  its  stomach."  "  Englishmen,  well  up  in  the  Bible, 
knew  well  enough  that  man  is  commanded  to  eat  his  bread  in 
the  '  sweat  of  his  brow/  but  they  did  not  know  that  they  had  to 
eat  daily  in  their  bread  a  certain  quantity  of  human  perspiration, 
mixed  with  the  discharge  of  abscesses,  cobwebs,  black  beetles,  with- 
out counting  alum,  sand,  and  other  agreeable  ingredients." 

While  the  two  Commissions,  the  one  in  Ireland  in  1861  and  the 
other  in  England  in  1862,  were  the  first  official  bodies  to  investi- 
gate the  bakery  trades,  attention  was  directed  to  this  subject  much 
earlier.  W.  A.  Guy,  in  1848,  wrote  a  monograph  on  "  The  Evils 
of  Night  Work  and  Long  Hours  of  Labor  Among  Bakers."  (3). 

Since  the  time  of  the  two  Commissions  in  the  early  sixties,  a 
number  of  investigations  were  made  by  several  non-official  bodies, 
and  all  of  them  commented  upon  the  unsanitary  state  of  the  bak- 
eries and  the  abnormal  conditions  under  which  the  bakers  worked. 

The  most  notable  of  these  investigations  was  that  conducted  by 
the  so-called  Lancet  Special  Commission  in  London  in  1889,  the 
report  of  which  was  published  in  the  "  Lancet "  in  1889  and 
1890.  (4). 

The  results  of  these  investigations  were  also  published  later  by 
Drs.  Waldo  and  Walsh  in  a  book  entitled  "  Bread,  Bake-Houses 
and  Bacteria,"  to  which  further  reference  will  be  made.  (5). 

In  1894,  the  Medical  Officer  of  Health,  Shirly  Murphy,  issued 
a  report  on  the  "  Sanitary  Conditions  of  the  Bakery  Houses," 
which  resulted  in  the  "  Factory  Act  "  of  1895,  prohibiting  the 
location  of  bakeries  in  cellars,  and  providing  strict  regulations  for 
the  industry.  (6). 

In  Germany,  the  agitation  for  the  improvement  of  bakeries  was 
due  mainly  to  the  efforts  of  the  Bakers'  Labor  Unions,  whose 
activities  began  in  the  late  eighties  of  the  last  century. 

In  1888,  a  voluntary  investigation  was  made  by  a  Committee 
of  the  Social  Democratic  Party.  The  results  of  this  investigation 
are  fully  described  by  A.  Bebel,  in  his  book.  (7). 

In  1898,  the  results  of  another  investigation  undertaken  by  the 
Union  bakers  of  German}  were  published  under  the  title  of  "  Ein 
Nothschrei  der  Backerei-Arbeiter  Deutschlands.'*  (8.) 


206  BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS. 

This  agitation  has  had  for  its  practical  result  the  law  of  March 
4th,  1896. 

In  France,  the  miserable  conditions  of  the  bakers  drew  atten- 
tion much  earlier,  and  we  find  references  to  this  subject  in  1715 ; 
(9);  then,  in  1834;  (10);  then  later  in  1862;  (11).  During 
the  short-lived  reign  of  the  Commune  in  1871,  a  decree  was  issued 
prohibiting  all  night  work  for  bakers.  Since  that  time  numer- 
ous investigations  have  been  made,  and  from  time  to  time  acts  have 
been  passed  regulating  the  industry. 

There  is  no  country  where  the  subject  of  night  work  in 
bakeries  received  such  early  attention  as  in  Norway,  where  an  act 
prohibiting  all  night  work  in  bakeries  was  passed  as  early  as  1885, 
and  has  remained  in  force  ever  since. 

A  similar  law  prohibiting  night  work  in  bakeries  was  passed  in 
Italy  in  1906,  after  numerous  investigations  and  parliamentary 
battles. 

In  the  United  States,  the  first  agitation  against  unsanitary  con- 
ditions was  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  Bakers'  Labor  Unions. 

In  New  York  State,  the  agitation  dates  back  to  1894.  A  law 
limiting  the  hours  of  labor  to  sixty  a  week  was  passed  by  the  Leg- 
islature in  1895,  but  was  afterwards  declared  unconstitutional. 
In  1896  there  appeared  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  Bakers' 
International  Union,  entitled  "  Bake  House  Sanitation.  An 
Inquiry  into  Conditions  Surrounding  Bakeries  and  Journeymen- 
Bakers,  and  Their  Relation  to  Public  Health."  (12). 

This  report  gives  the  results  of  certain  investigations,  and  quotes 
also  the  results  of  investigations  made  by  the  Factory  Commis- 
sioner of  1,058  bakeries  throughout  the  State,  of  which  623  were 
found  unhealthful. 

In  the  Legislative  session  of  1896,  Assemblyman  A.  J.  Audett 
introduced  a  bill  (No.  203)  in  which  there  was  the  following 
provision :  "  No  cellar  or  basement  not  now  occupied  for  a  bakery 
shall  be  hereafter  used  for  such  purposes."  The  bill  failed  to  pass. 
Since  that  time  clauses  relating  to  bakeries  have  been  embodied 
in  the  laws  of  1906,  1907  and  1911. 

In  Pennsylvania,  an  investigation  of  bakeries  was  made  by  the 
"  Philadelphia  Inquirer  "  in  1895;  and  in  the  same  year  in  Pitts- 
burg  by  the  "Leader."  (13). 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  207 

In  New  Jersey  an  investigation  of  bakeries  and  a  medical 
examination  of  933  bakers  was  made  in  1892. 

Numerous  investigations  have  been  lately  carried  on  in  more 
than  a  dozen  other  states,  where  various  acts  have  been  passed  in 
reference  to  bakeries. 


111. 

THE  INDUSTRY. 

According  to  the  United  States  Census  in  1900,  there  were  in 
the  United  States  14,917  bakeries,  employing  60,271  wage  earn- 
ers. According  to  the  Census  of  1910,  there  were  in  New  York 
State  in  1909,  3,962  bakeries,  employing  13,676  workers.  The 
distribution  of  bakeries  in  the  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class 
was  as  follows:  New  York,  2,489;  Buffalo,  190;  Rochester 
106;  Syracuse,  73;  Albany,  64;  Troy,  41;  Yonkers,  35,  and 
Utica,  28. 

The  art  of  bread  making  is  as  old  as  mankind,  and  dates  back 
to  the  beginning  of  civilization.  The  mixing  of  ground  grains 
with  water,  and  the  roasting  of  this  mixture  in  fire  is  the  first 
process  of  bread  making,  known  to  the  most  primitive  tribes. 
Bread  making  is  the  first  art  mentioned  in  the  Bible.  From  the 
Egyptians  it  is  said  that  the  art  descended  to  the  Greeks ;  although 
according  to  an  old  myth  this  art  was  presented  to  the  Greeks  by 
the  god  Pan. 

From  the  earliest  time  to  the  present,  bread  making  was  essen- 
tially a  home  industry,  an  industry  carried  on  by  every  woman 
in  every  household.  Indeed,  according  to  Plinius,  there  were  no 
bakeries  in  Rome  before  the  year  174  B.  C.,  and  only  later  were 
these  introduced  and  flourished,  as  may  be  seen  from  the  ruins  of 
Pompeii.  (14.)  But,  except  in  very  large  cities,  bread  making 
as  a  separate  trade  has  always  had  to  compete  with  bread  making 
in  the  home. 


208  BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS. 

The  domestic  form  of  the  industry  is  favored  by  the  few  in- 
gredients, the  uncomplicated  process,  and  the  simple  art  of  bread 
making. 

The  few  essential  processes  of  bread  making  are:  (1st)  mix- 
ing of  the  flour,  (2nd)  kneading  of  the  dough,  (3rd)  cutting  and 
shaping  into  appropriate  loaves,  and  (4th)  baking  in  the  oven. 
These  four  simple  processes  are  practically  all  that  are  used  in  the 
home,  as  well  as  in  large  establishments ;  the  difference  being  only 
in  the  amount  of  the  materials  used  and  in  the  size  of  the  output. 

Because  of  the  simplicity  of  the  processes  and  the  essentially 
domestic  character  of  bread  making  the  industry  is  an  unpro- 
gressive  one.  There  is  hardly  another  trade  in  which  the  methods 
are  so  archaic,  and  the  conditions  so  primitive.  The  same  com- 
ments on  bakeries  and  bakers  may  be  made  now  that  were  made 
over  two  hundred  years  ago  by  Rammazzini  (15). 

Not  only  is  this  industry  a  non-progressive  and  domestic  one, 
but  it  is  in  the  hands  of  small  employers;  it  is  a  petty  produc- 
tion trade  par  excellance.  It  is  carried  on  with  very  small  capital, 
in  very  small  establishments,  and  with  very  few  workers  in  each. 

In  France  there  is  one  bakery  to  every  874  persons ;  in  Belgium 
one  to  every  465  persons;  in  Italy  one  to  every  930,  and  in  the 
United  States,  one  to  every  4,657.  (16). 

In  Berlin  there  are  on  an  average  2.81  bakers  to  each  bakery; 
in  Italy  1.3  bakers,  and  in  New  York  State  about  3  bakers  to  every 
bakery.  There  were  3,002  workers  in  480  bakeries,  which  were 
examined,  and  deducting  562  workers  of  the  six  bakery  factor- 
ies, there  remain  2,440  workers  in  475  bakeries,  or  about  5  to 
each  shop.  There  has  been,  however,  during  the  last  ten  years  a 
noticeable  tendency  to  centralize  this  industry,  to  put  it  in 
the  hands  of  large  capitalists,  and  to  introduce  a  large  number 
of  machines.  It  is  a  very  difficult  matter  to  monopolize  this 
trade,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  processes  are  so  simple  that  it 
can  be  carried  on  in  every  household.  Unless  there  is  a  com- 
plete monopoly  of  the  grain  production  and  flour  milling,  there 
cannot  be  an  extensive  monopoly  of  bread  making;  certainly  not 
with  an  undue  raising  of  the  price  of  bread.  For  wherever  that  is 
the  case,  the  competition  of  the  housewife  will  keep  all  prices 
down  to  a  certain  level. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  209 

IV. 

THE  WORKPLACE. 

We  have  seen  that  bread  making  is  a  domestic  industry  with 
which  the  bakeries  compete  with  difficulty.  We  should  note 
that  the  bulk  of  the  trade  is  in  the  hands  of  petty  trades- 
men ;  that  the  capital  invested  by  each  is  comparatively  small ; 
that  there  are  but  a  small  number  of  workers  in  each  bakery; 
that  each  bakery  caters  to  the  trade  of  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood; that  the  processes  of  the  industry  are  very  simple;  that  the 
number  of  small  establishments  is  very  great  and  the  competi- 
tion among  them  very  keen.  It  follows,  therefore,  that  the  profit 
on  every  loaf  baked  is  very  small,  and  the  smaller  baker  must 
economize  as  much  as  possible  if  he  wishes  to  make  a  living  from 
his  trade. 

The  cheap  rent  of  cellars,  their  availability,  ubiquity,  the  ease 
with  which  a  brick  oven  can  be  fitted  into  every  cellar,  etc.,  are 
the  principal  reasons  for  the  location  of  the  industry  in  cellars. 

In  Paris  nearly  all  the  bakeries  are  in  cellars;  in  Berlin  34.4: 
per  cent  were  in  cellars.  In  London  bakeries  were  mostly  in  cellars 
until  1895,  when  new  bakeries  were  prohibited  from  occupying 
cellars,  and  all  bakeries  put  under  stringent  sanitary  regulation. 
(16). 

It  is  not  different  in  the  United  States.  In  Chicago,  accord- 
ing to  Ball  (17),  there  were  in  1907,  582  cellar  bakeries,  or  43 
per  cent  of  all  the  bakeries.  In  Philadelphia,  four-fifths  of  the 
bakeries  were  in  cellars;  in  Pittsburg  101  out  of  125  were  found 
in  cellars.  (13.) 

The  latest  figures  show  that  there  are  nearly  2,500  (2,489) 
bakeries  in  New  York  City,  and  according  to  the  report  of  Mr. 
Fosdick  "  excluding  the  so-called  factory  bakeries,  of  which  there 
are  less  than  100  in  X-ew  York,  the  great  majority  of  bakeries,  if 
not  all,  are  located  in  cellars  and  basements."  (1).  Even  some  of 
the  factory  bakeries  do  their  baking  in  cellars.  Of  the  485 
bakery  establishments  visited  by  our  inspectors,  479  were  located 
in  cellars. 


210 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


TTPI 

TABLE  I 
B  or  BUILDINC 

> 

Tenement 
(cellar) 

Loft 

Dwelling 
(cellar) 

Special 
Factory 

Total 

Number  

431 

4 

39 

11 

485 

Per  cent  

87 

1 

9 

3 

100 

As  is  seen  from  the  table,  most  of  the  bakeries  inspected  were 
located  in  cellars  of  tenement  and  dwelling  houses.  That  these 
cellars  are  unfit  for  such  purposes  is  of  course  not  considered,  as 
long  as  rent  is  low.  Any  cellar  in  a  tenement  can  be  converted 
into  a  bakery  with  the  simple  addition  of  a  brick  oven,  which  is 
sometimes  built  in  the  vault,  very  often  near  or  at  the  privy  vaults, 
school  sinks  or  house  drain. 

The  depth  of  the  cellar  below  the  sidewalk  or  adjoining  ground 
depends  of  course  upon  the  situation  of  the  house.  Most  of  the 
cellars  occupied  for  bakeries  are  quite  low  underground,  the  ceil- 
ings of  such  cellars  rarely  being  more  than  a  foot  or  two  above 
the  sidewalk,  and  in  the  majority  of  cases  at  or  below  the  adjacent 
ground. 

The  height  of  the  cellar  ceiling  from  its  floor  depends  also  upon 
the  original  construction  of  the  house,  the  average  height  being 
about  7^  feet?  although  a  large  number  may  be  much  lower.  In 
the  investigation  carried  on  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  in 
1895,  there  were  1,049  cellar  bakeries  inspected,  of  which 
713  were  8  feet  high;  258,  7  feet  high;  172,  7y2 
feet;  181,  G1/^  feet;  69,  6  feet;  and  a  number  still  lower; 
and  there  were  three  cellars  five  and  a  half  feet  high.  (18).  Our 
inspectors  did  not  take  exact  measurements,  although  they  give 
the  approximate  height,  and  their  report  shows  that  most  of  the 
cellars  are  about  7  to  8  feet  high,  showing  considerable  improve- 
ment since  1895. 

A  cellar  is  defined  in  the  Tenement  House  Law  as  a  story 
more  than  one-half  of  which  is  below  the  curb,  while  a  base- 
ment is  a  story  partly  but  not  more  than  half  below  the  level 
of  the  curb. 


BAKETCTES  AND  BAKERS.  211 

Comparatively  few  basements  are  used  for  bakery  purposes. 
This  is  partly  because  the  rent  of  the  basement  is  com- 
paratively high,  and  partly  because  of  the  difficulty  of  building  an 
oven  in  a  basement  floor.  Wherever  basements  are  used  by  baker- 
ies, there  is  invariably  a  cellar  below,  which  is  used  for  the  sale  of 
the  product  and  for  living  purposes  by  the  master  baker  and  his 
family. 

What  are  the  results  of  this  location  of  bakeries  in  cellars? 
They  are  many  and  serious. 

The  following  is  an  enumeration  of  the  evils  due  to  location 
in  cellars : 

Peril  from  Fire.  Dressing-rooms. 

Defective  Drainage.  Toilet  Accommodations. 

Inadequate  Light.  Cleanliness  of  Utensils. 

Defective  Ventilation.  Handling  of  Product. 

High  Temperatures.  Cleanliness  of  Product. 

Excessive  Humidity.  Sleeping  on  Premises. 

Proximity  of  Plumbing.  Presence  of  Domestic  Animals. 

Condition  of  Surfaces.  Presence  of  Vermin  and  Insects. 

Washing  Facilities.  Safety  of  Product. 

Peril  from.  Fire  : 

It  is  well  known  that  fires  in  tenement  houses  and  other 
dwellings  frequently  start  in  the  cellar.  A  bakery  in  a  cellar 
is  very  often  the  source  of  such  fires.  Attention  was  directed  to 
this  danger  in  1894  by  Fire  Chief  Bonner  in  his  reports  to  the 
Gilder  Commission.  (19). 

A  great  many  of  the  cellars  have  ceilings  consisting  either  of 
beams,  or  beams  covered  with  boards.  The  flimsy  cellar  stairs 
which  connect  most  of  the  cellars  with  the  ground  floor  hallway- 
are  also  an  aid  in  rapidly  spreading  a  fire;  added  to  this,  there 
is  commonly  much  rubbish,  paper,  etc.,  strewn  all  over  the  cellar. 

There  is  also  a  large  element  of  danger  to  the  employees  of 
bakeries  in  case  a  fire  starts  in  any  part  of  the  cellar  near  the 
entrance  trap  door  or  stairway.  The  ordinary  cellar  is  provided 
with  only  one  door,  which  serves  as  a  means  of  entrance  and  exit. 


212 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS. 


This  door  is  usually  located  either  in  front  of  the  house,  or  at  its 
extreme  rear,  so  that  there  is  a  distance  of  from  50  to  70  feet 
between  the  exit  and  the  place  where  the  work  is  carried  on. 

Defective  Drainage: 

It  is  only  within  the  last  ten  years  that  tenement  houses  have 
been  built  with  compulsory  damp-proof  courses  in  the  foundation 
and  sides  of  the  house.  All  houses  previously  constructed  were 
built  without  any  protection  against  dampness,  so  that  many  cel- 
lars are  not  only  damp,  but  actually  partly  filled  with  water. 
Especially  is  this  the  case  in  the  cellars  of  houses  situated  upon 
marshy  ground,  or  upon  filled-in  ground,  as  in  streets  neariug  the 
river  front,  where  most  of  the  cellars  and  bakeries  therein  are 
flooded  during  storms  and  high  tide. 

The  cellar  floors  are  usually  very  damp.  Although  lately  this 
has  been  lessened  by  the  concreting  of  floors,  our  inspectors 
found  132  cellars  where  floors  were  damp. 


TABLE  II 

FLOORS  AND  DRAINS  or  497  BAKE^SHOPS* 
FLOORS 


MATERIAL 

Wood 
and 
con- 
crete 

Con- 
crete 

No 
re- 
port 

Dry 

CONDITION 

Earth 

Wood 

Stone 

Damp 

No 
re- 
port 

Number  

1 

168 
34 

2 

172 
34 

146 
30 

8 
2 

340 
68 

132 

27 

25 
5 

LOCATION 

2ONDITION 

Above 

Below 
floor 

No 
report 

Good 

Bad 

No 
report 

167 

279 

51 

235 

108 

154 

33 

57 

10 

47 

22 

31 

*NoTE — In  this  and  following  tables  the  unit  is  the  Jt<ior  or 


BAKERY  ON  HENRY  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY.   In  a  dirty  corner  of  this  bakery,  to  the 
right  of  the  moulding  board,  is  an  open  window  leading  to  a  dirty  court. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS. 


213 


Inadequate  Light: 

It  is  obvious  that  a  cellar  cannot  have  sufficient  natural  light. 
Most  of  the  cellars  get  their  light  from  small  horizontal  grated 
openings,  and  very  few  have  any  vertical  windows  to  the  outer 
light  and  air.  Wherever  such  windows  are  found  they  are  very 
small,  and  their  usual  condition  is  unfavorable  to  the  admission 
of  sufficient  light. 

The  result  is  that  all  cellar  bakeries  use  artificial  light  at  all 
times.  Insufficient  light  also  affects  the  dryness  of  the  cellar,  the 
walls,  ceilings  and  floors,  the  air  within,  and  the  cleanliness  and 
salubrity  of  the  place,  for  natural  light  is  the  best  disinfectant 
we  have,  especially  for  mould  and  other  low  forms  of  germ  life. 
Artificial  light  raises  the  temperature  of  the  cellar  rooms  and 
adds  to  the  impurity  of  the  air  by  the  processes  of  combustion. 

Defective  Ventilation-' 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  point  out  that  the  air  in  cellar 
rooms  cannot  be  pure  or  abundant. 

Apart  from  the  fact  that  cellars  get  all  the  underground  air, 
which  contains  a  large  proportion  of  carbon  dioxide,  the  air  is 
affected  by  the  dampness,  by  the  lack  of  natural  light,  by  the  ex- 
tremes of  temperatures  and  humidity,  by  the  dust  and  dirt  blown 
in  through  doors  and  openings,  by  the  lack  of  windows  or  open- 
ings to  the  outer  air,  and  by  a  great  many  other  causes.  Indeed, 
the  air  of  bakeries  is  stifling  and  foul,  and  the  workers  constantly 
complain  of  this  condition. 


TABLE  III 
LIOHT  AND  VENTILATION  OF  497  BAKE  SHOPS 


WINDOWS  IN  BAKERIES 

Fans 

Special 
venti- 
lating 
devices 

Arti- 
ficial 
light 

Total 

No 
windows 

One 
window 

Two 

windows 

More 
than  two 
windows 

Number  

171 
35 

W2 
20 

68 
14 

156 
31 

12 
2 

6 
1 

439 
88 

497 
100 

Per  cent  

214  BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS. 

Temperature  and  Humidity: 

There  are  few  cellar  bakeries  where  the  oven  is  separated  from 
the  rest  of  the  bakeshop.  The  temperature  near  the  oven  is  natu- 
rally very  high,  and  there  is  also  a  need  for  high  temperatures 
throughout  the  bakeshops  in  order  that  the  dough  may  "  rise." 
Add  to  this  the  low  ceiling,  the  lack  of  ventilation,  the  artificial 
illumination,  and  some  idea  is  gained  of  the  temperature  found 
in  cellar  bakeries.  Our  inspectors  found  temperatures  in  bakeries 
ranging  from  75  to  90  degrees. 

The  humidity  is  also  high,  caused  partly  by  the  baking  pro- 
cesses, partly  by  the  moisture  produced  by  illumination  and  by 
the  profuse  perspiration  of  the  workers  themselves.  The  wet  bulb 
thermometer  showed  in  some  places  85  degrees  Fahrenheit  and 
abova  This  is  a  very  serious  evil  and  of  great  importance  to  the 
health  of  the  workers. 

Proximity  of  Plumbing  Pipes  and  Fixtures: 

This  is  another  evil  which  characterizes  cellar  bakeries.  The 
house  drain  is  located  in  cellars,  sometimes  below,  and  at  times 
above  ground.  Not  so  long  ago  house  drains  were  made  of  brick, 
clay,  and  earthenware,  and  there  are  still  a  number  of  houses 
where  these  earthenware  housedrains  have  not  been  replaced  by 
iron  ones.  Earthenware  or  brick  drains  are  filth  channels,  because 
of  the  ease  with  which  they  break  and  make  cellars  extremely 
foul  and  full  of  sewage.  Iron  pipes  are  often  defective, 
have  numerous  open  hand-holes,  are  not  properly  covered,  and 
drip  with  moisture.  Such  drains  are  often  used  as  a  place  for 
unfinished  or  finished  bread  products.  Sinks  are  enclosed  by  wood- 
work, are  usually  foul,  saturated,  and  emit  bad  odors.  The  space 
within  the  enclosures  is  often  filled  with  rubbish  and  dirt,  and  is 
a  breeding  place  of  vermin. 

Conditions  of  Cellar  Surfaces: 

The  worst  floors  are  those  made  of  wood  or  earth.  Floors  of 
wood  on  concrete  are  also  very  objectionable  because  the  wood  Is 
damp,  saturated  and  foul.  Only  in  146  bakeries  were  the  floors 
found  to  l)f  of  non-absorbent  materials.  The  walls  and  ceilings 
are  of  plaster  as  a  rule,  although  there  are  a  number  of  cellars 


-r 

i 


II 


~      OS 


-»i  — 

£-  S3 

S3  L 

aQ  o3 


*^3   C 

<U  _rt 


I   5 


£« 

ol 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


215 


where  the  lath  is  exposed  and  the  plaster  of  walls  broken  off. 
The  cleanliness  of  walls  and  ceilings  and  floors  leaves  much  to 
be  desired,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  table. 

TABLE  IV 

497  BAKE  SHOPS  CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO  GRADES  OF  CLEANLINESS 
CLEANLINESS  OF  WALLS 


Grade  "A" 

Grade  "B" 

Grade  "C" 

Grade  "D" 

Number  ...        .        

32 

264 

135 

66 

Per  cent  .    . 

7 

63 

27 

13 

CLEANLINESS  OF  CEILINGS  ' 


Urade  A  ' 

Urade  "B" 

Urade  U  " 

Urade  L» 

Number 

40 

214 

126 

110 

Per  cent  .  . 

8 

43 

25 

22 

CLEANLINESS  OF   FLOORS  t 


Grade  "A" 

Grade  "B" 

Grade  "C" 

Grade  "D" 

Number  

248 

235 

Per  cent  .    . 

49 

47 

CUM 

N  LIN  ESS  OF  Ul 

Grade  "A" 

[•ENSILS  J 

Grade  "B" 

Grade  "C" 

Grade  "D" 

Number  

28 
6 

244 
49 

144 
29 

73 
15 

Per  cent  

*  7  shops  not  reporting. 
t!4  shops  not  reporting, 
t  8  shops  not  reporting. 

Washing  Facilities: 

The  washing  facilities  commonly  found  in  bakeries  are  the 
sinks.  These  sinks  are  often  dirty  and  have  no  provision  for  hot 
water.  Even  those  facilities  were  lacking  in  65%  of  all  the 
bakeries  inspected.  With  the  amount  of  dirt  clinging  to  the  hands 
of  workers,  with  the  profuse  perspiration,  dust,  etc.,  in  such  shops, 
it  would  seem  that  ample  washing  facilities  are  absolutely  indis- 
pensable for  the  cleanliness  of  both. 

D  rcssing-Eooms: 

In  none  of  the  cellar  bakeries  was  there  any  special  place  pro- 
vided for  hanging  and  keeping  the  street  clothes  of  the  workers; 
these  clothes  being  placed  upon  the  tables  and  walls  and  in  very 


216 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


close  proximity  to  the  bread  and  pastry  products.     Many  bakers 
work  in  their  ordinary  clothes  or  underwear,  and  partly  nude. 

Toilet  Accommodations: 

In  109  or  22  per  cent  of  the  bakerie-  inspected,  toilets  have  been 
found  in  the  bakery  cellars,  101  of  these  being  totally  dark;  86 
very  filthy;  114  very  badly  ventilated.  The  location  of  toilets  in 
cellars  is  obviously  very  objectionable,  but  it  still  exists  in  spite 
of  legal  prohibition.  The  proximity  of  these  fixtures,  especially 
when  they  are  in  such  an  unsanitary  condition,  is  very 
objectionable. 


TABLE  v 

LOCATION  AND  CONDITION  OF  WATER-CLOSETS  i.v  497    BAKERIES 


LOCATION* 

CLEANLINESS  t 

On 
prem- 
ises 

Separate 

No 

water- 
closet 

Grade 
"A" 

Grade 
"B" 

Grade 
"C" 

Grade 
"D" 

Number  

109 
22 

323 
65 

29 
6 

19 

4 

107 
21 

114 

23 

86 

17 

Per  cent  

*  36  shops  not  reporting.         t  171  shops  not  reporting. 


LIGHT  J 

VENTILATION  § 

Grade 
"A" 

Grade 
"B" 

Grade 
"C" 

Grade 
"D" 

Grade 
"A" 

Grade 
"B" 

Grade 
"C" 

Grade 
"D  ' 

Number  

26 
6 

115 
23 

80 

16 

101 
20 

43 
9 

89 

18 

82 
16 

114 

23 

P0r  wwit.  .  .  .  . 

t 175  shops  not  reporting.         §  169  shops  not  reporting. 

Utensils: 

The  utensils  found  in  bakeries,  such  as  vats,  pans,  mixing 
boards,  dough  boards,  moulding  boards,  etc.,  are  kept  in  a  very 
bad  condition.  They  invariably  look  as  if  they  were  never  cleaned, 
and  it  seems  unlikely  that  they  are  thoroughly  cleaned,  because  of 
the  lack  of  hot  water  in  such  places,  as  it  is  hardly  possible  to  clean 
them  properly  without  the  use  of  hot  water. 


o 


— -o 
a 

O    « 


be  £ 

£ 

S.S 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEBS.  217 

The  Handling  of  the  Product: 

There  is  hardly  any  industry  where  so  little  precaution  is 
taken  in  the  handling  of  the  product. 

It  is  recorded  that  in  ancient  times  the  slaves  who  were  baking 
bread  for  their  Roman  masters  were  compelled  to  wear  cloths  tied 
around  their  faces  and  necks,  in  order  that  their  perspiration 
should  not  fall  into  the  baked  product.  There  seems  to  be  less 
objection  against  eating  our  bread  literally  mixed  with  the  sweat 
of  the  brow  now.  The  profusely  perspiring  bakers  have  not  the 
time  or  inclination  to  wipe  off  the  beads  of  sweat,  which  as  a 
result  fall  into  the  dough.  It  is  not  rare  to  see  bakery  workers 
place  the  dough  on  their  nude  bodies,  or  make  it  serve  for  a  pillow 
to  rest  their  heads  upon. 

In  only  one  bakery  —  and  that  a  model  one  —  have  the  workers 
been  provided  with  gloves  for  handling  the  product. 

The  Cleanliness  of  the  Product: 

It  is  fortunate  that  much  that  occurs  in  bakeries  is  not  observed 
by  tlie  consumers,  otherwise  the  consumption  of  bread  bought  from 
bakeshops  would  surely  be  greatly  reduced,  and  home  baking  be 
more  the  rule  than  it  is  now.  Even  were  all  possible  precautions 
taken  during  the  making  of  the  bread,  there  is  absolutely  no  possi- 
bility of  preventing  the  contamination  of  the  product  by  the  abun- 
dant dirt  and  dust  in  the  bakeries  or  by  handling  during  and 
after  its  production. 

The  Presence  of  Animals,  Vermin,  Flies,  etc.: 

The  cleanliness  of  the  product  is  not  improved  by  the  presence 
of  domestic  animals  and  flies,  insects  and  vermin,  etc. 

Cats  are  almost  a  necessity  in  cellars  where  the  bread  and  flour 
products  attract  many  mice.  Where  there  are  cats  there  are  often 
litters  of  kittens ;  these  sometimes  are  found  upon  the  utensils,  or 
retiring  upon  the  dough.  Their  presence  is  a  matter  of  course 
and  does  not  excite  any  comment.  Some  of  these  animals  may  suf- 
fer from  infectious  diseases. 

Flies  are  numerous,  as  there  are  very  few  cellars  effectively 
screened,  and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  keep  the  ubiquitous  fly 
out  in  warm  weather.  These  flies,  born  in  manure  and  filth, 
carry  on  a  traffic  in  the  nearby  dung  heaps,  toilets,  street  sweep- 


218 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


ings,  and  then  rest  upon  the  unprepared  and  prepared  bread  pro- 
ducts. Still  more  frequent,  indeed  always  present,  are  the  numer- 
ous bugs,  insects  and  vermin.  Photo  No.  11  shows  the  wall  of 
a  bakery  full  of  ants. 

The  practice  of  sleeping  in  cellars  is  very  prevalent  among 
workers.  Our  inspectors  have  found  ten  persons  actually  sleeping 
in  the  bakeries,  but  our  inspections  were  made  during  the  night 
when  work  was  going  on.  Abundant  evidence  was  found  of  sleep- 
ing during  the  earlier  hours  of  the  day  —  and  when  the  workers 
have  to  wait  for  the  processes  to  be  started.  Among  baker  ap- 
prentices whose  wages  are  very  small,  the  standard  of  living  is  so 
low  that  they  do  not  object  to  using  the  cellars  as  sleeping  places. 

TABLE  VI 


Number 

Per  cent. 

Ample  washing  facilities  

314 

65 

Cuspidors  provided  

31 

6 

Spitting  prohibited  

94 

19 

Eridence  of  sleeping  in  bakery  

10 

2 

Preftenr*  nf  domestic  animals 

275 

55 

Flies  

236 

57 

Cockroaches,  etc  

204 

40 

Oth^r  insecta  (not  npftc'fieH)  .  ,  ,                 .  ,         .  . 

88 

18 

Safety  of  the  Product: 

The  question  naturally  arises  what  effect  the  conditions  under 
which  bread  is  made  have  upon  the  cleanliness  of  the  bread  and 
other  bakery  material,  and  whether  the  consumption  of  bakers' 
stuff  is  safe  under  these  circumstances. 

It  has  been  definitely  determined  that  the  baking  process,  which 
should  sterilize  the  product,  does  not  necessarily  destroy  all  in- 
fectious agents  in  the  bread. 

In  the  investigation  made  for  the  Lancet  Commission  (4)  and 
afterwards  published  by  Waldo  and  Walsh  in  their  book,  numer- 
ous experiments  are  mentioned  which  show  that  the  temperature 
which  reaches  the  center  of  the  baked  loaves  does  not  exceed  180 
degrees  Fahr.,  and  that  pathogenic  bacteria  may  not  be  destroyed, 
certainly  not  the  spore-bearing  bacteria.  "  We  see  no  reason," 
say  Drs.  Waldo  and  Walsh,  "  why  the  origin  of  many  mysterious 
septic  invasions  of  the  human  body  may  not  eventually  be  traced  to 


OS 

• 


1 


O 


B 

00 


.O  00 

I 

*M 


« 


JI 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEKS.  219 

the  agency  of  infected  bread,"  and  "  baking  does  not  necessarily 
destroy  the  vitality  of  the  micro-organisms  contained  in  the  dough." 
(5)  Experiments  have  demonstrated  that  tubercle  germs  may 
survive  the  baking  process,  and  that  cholera  germs  put  into  the 
flour  may  have  the  vitality  to  infect  persons  eating  the  baked 
product. 


PART    SECOND 
THE  HEALTH  AND  DISEASES  OF  THE  BAKERS 

A  Mi;m<  AL  EXAMIXATIOX  OF  EIGHT  HUNDRED  BAKERY  WORKERS. 


It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  the  unsanitary  conditions  of  bake- 
houses described  above  should  not  affect  the  workers. 

Indeed,  bakers  are  proverbially  unhealthy  and  the  trade 
of  baking  one  which  cannot  be  long  carried  en  with  complete 
impunity. 

Over  two  hundred  years  ago,  Rammazzini,  in  speaking  of  bakers 
(15),  said,  "  that  the  bakers  in  the  course  of  their  work  are  brought 
under  the  lash  of  various  diseases,"  and  in  1832  Thackrah  (20), 
stated  that  "  bakers  are  generally  pale  and  unhealthy."  The  testi- 
mony of  almost  all  those  who  have  been  investigating  the  subject  of 
the  health  of  the  bakers  since  Rammazzini  is  unanimous  that  the 
bakers  suffer  from  many  diseases  on  account  of  the  abnormal  con- 
ditions existing  in  their  trade. 

The  character  of  the  persons  entering  the  trade  has  of  course 
much  to  do  with  their  suffering  from  the  effects  of  the  trade  con- 
ditions. Until  very  lately,  and  even  in  the  present  day,  the  ranks 
of  the  bakery  workers  have  been  recruited  from  a  class  of  people 
rather  poor  in  physique,  low  in  intelligence,  and  inclined  to  alco- 
holic and  other  excesses.  Undoubtedly  this  is  drne  to  the  unsatis- 
factory conditions  which  are  known  to  exist  in  the  trade,  and 
which  deter  a  better  class  of  artisans  from  entering  it 


220  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

Sex: 

There  are  very  few  women  in  the  trade.  This  is  strange  at  first 
sight,  in  that  bread-making  is  distinctly  woman's  work,  and  that 
practically  every  housewife  is  able  and  does  follow  the  occupation 
of  break-making  and  baking. 

Yet  there  have  never  been  many  women  employed  in  this  in- 
dustry, although  women  have  crowded  into  other  and  more  strenu- 
ous trades.  In  our  investigation  we  found  women,  but  they  were 
employed  in  one  or  two  large  bakeries  and  were  engaged  in  wrap- 
ping up  the  bread. 

The  explanation  probably  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  notorious  con- 
ditions of  the  cellar  bakeries  have  always  deterred  women  from 
entering  into  competition  with  men  in  the  baking  trade. 

Age: 

As  to  the  age  of  bakers,  it  is  known  that  there  are  few  either 
very  young  or  very  old  persons  in  the  trade. 

There  were  in  olden  times  a  large  number  of  apprentices,  young 
boys,  in  the  baking  trade.  Much  attention  was  paid  to  the  health 
of  these  boys,  and  many  laws  were  passed  limiting  the  age  at 
which  they  might  enter  tho  trade.  There  >are  at  present  not  many 
workers  under  16  or  18  years  of  age. 

In  our  investigation  sve  found  only  three  below  16  years  in  the 
500  shops. 

The  number  of  persons  over  45  years  is  not  very  large  in  the 
baking  trade.  This  is  partly  explained  by  the  fact  that  many  of 
those  who  have  been  fifteen  or  twenty  years  in  the  trade  become 
master  bakers,  a  comparatively  easy  advance,  as  little  capital  is 
needed  to  start  a  small  cellar  bakery.  The  other  reason  for  the 
scarcity  of  men  over  45  years  of  age  is  that  the  mortality  of  the 
trade  is  very  high.  Twenty  or  thirty  years  after  their  entrance 
into  the  trade,  many  get  into  such  a  debilitated  condition  physi- 
cally that  they  are  unfit  for  the  trade  and  drift  into  some  easier 
occupation. 


5 

o 
a> 

a 


•a 

.c 


—    o3 
U    Ol 


O 


o 


ffi 


BAKERY  ON  HENRY  STREET,  NEW  YORK  CITY.     The  dirty  pants  and  coats  of  the  bakers 
were  hanging  on  top  of,  and  resting  upon,  the  new  baked  bread. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  221 

II. 

CONDITIONS  AFFECTING  THE  HEALTH  OF  THE  WORKERS. 

What  are  the  conditions  unfavorably  affecting  the  health  of  the 
bakery  workers  ? 

Among  the  conditions  which  have  been  mentioned  but  not  suffi- 
ciently emphasized  is  the  high  temperature  to  which  the  bakers  are 
subjected,  while  other  conditions,  not  yet  discussed,  are  low  wages, 
long  hours  of  work,  and  night  work. 

Temperature : 

That  bakers  are  compelled  to  work  in  places  where  the  tempera- 
ture is  very  high  has  already  been  noted.  The  high  tempera- 
tures, in  connection  with  the  lack  of  clothes  worn  while  at  work, 
and  the  strenuous  efforts  required  in  kneading  the  dough,  and 
the  draughts  in  the  cellar  bakeries  due  to  the  doors  and  gratings, 
are  bound  to  affect  unfavorably  the  health  of  the  workers  and  to 
cause  various  pulmonary  disorders. 

Corlieu  (21)  ascribed  to  these  causes  the  frequent  respiratory 
diseases  from  which  the  bakers  suffer,  as  well  as  the  rheumatic 
troubles  due  to  the  high  temperatures  under  which  they  work. 

'/<i<lcli  (22)  states  that  high  temperatures  and  profuse  perspira- 
tion cause  the  great  thirst  of  bakers,  which  they  seek  to  quench 
with  cold  drinks  and  alcoholic  beverages,  and  they  therefore  suffer 
greatly  from  digestive  disturbances,  nervous  diseases  and  from 
cardiac  affections. 

According  to  Emmerich  (23)  the  relatively  high  humidity  of 
the  air  in  bakeries,  combined  with  the  high  temperatures,  "  lead  to 
vasomotor  disturbances,  and  undoubtedly  influence  the  composition 
of  the  blood,  as  they  cause  a  rise  in  the  body  temperature."  With 
a  high  temperature  in  the  bakeshop,  and  with  an  atmosphere 
humid  almost  to  saturation,  the  natural  evaporation  and  cooling 
of  the  body  by  perspiration  is  difficult." 

Low  Wages: 

It  is  a  characteristic  trait  of  many  industries  conducted  under 
unsanitary  conditions  that  they  are  filled  with  a  class  of  workers 
who  are  paid  very  low  wages. 


222  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

The  fierce  competition  of  the  bake  shops  with  domestic  bread- 
making,  and  with  each  other,  the  low  standard  of  the  workers. 
and  the  lack  of  organization,  all  contribute  to  the  low  wages  of  the 
bakere. 

In  the  investigation  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  in  1894 
already  referred  to  above,  it  was  shown  that  the  large  majority  of 
workers  in  the  bakeries  in  New  York  State  have  been  getting  less 
than  $12.00  a  week.  Of  the  1,940  bakers  among  whom  inquiry 
was  made,  only  242  have  received  $12.00,  and  less  than  300  above 
that  figure,  while  188  were  getting  $10,00  ;  195,  $8.00  ;  150,  $7.00  ; 
127,  $6.00;  143,  $5.00;  94,  $4.00;  66,  $3.00;  and  24,  $2.00  per 
week. 

The  present  wages  paid  to  bakers  are  somewhat  higher  on  the 
average,  owing  to  the  successful  struggle  of  the  Bakers'  Unions,  but 
they  are  still  quite  low  and  do  not  average  more  than  $14.00  per 
week,  according  to  the  statement  of  leaders  of  the  union.  The 
are  lower  among  the  unorganized  workers. 


Long  Hours  of  Labor: 

The  length  of  the  working  day  is  determined  by  many  circum- 
stances, but  it  has  also  a  natural  limit.  The  worker  needs  a  cer- 
tain number  of  hours  out  of  a  total  of  twenty-four  to  recuperate 
his  bodily  strength,  a  certain  number  of  hours  to  satisfy  his  physi- 
cal wants,  and  certain  time  to  satisfy  intellectual  needs  and  enjoy 
some  recreation  and  social  intercourse. 

Unfortunately  the  bakery  industry  is  characterized  not  only  by 
the  extremely  unfavorable  conditions  already  discussed  in  detail, 
but  also  by  unduly  prolonged  hours  of  work. 

In  the  investigation  already  referred  to,  made  by  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor  of  New  York  in  1893,  the  long  hours  of  labor  of 
bakers  were  described  in  detail. 

Some  of  the  bakers  examined  had  worked  the  following  hours: 
85,  60  hours  per  week  ;  89,  62  hours  ;  48,  66  hours  ;  83,  67  hours  ; 
92,  68  hours;  91,  69  hours;  165,  72  hours;  203,  74  hours;  62, 
80  hours;  76,  88  hours;  16,  90  hours;  19,  100  hours;  11,  105 
hours;  112,  110  hours;  2,  111  hours;  3,  112  hours;  3,  126  hours. 
(18.) 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEKS.  223 

At  present  the  hours  of  work  in  New  York  bakeries  are  limited 
where  union  conditions  prevail  to  10  hours  per  day,  and  60  hours 
per  week,  but  wherever  they  are  not  organized  they  still  work 
very  long  hours,  not  less  than  12  daily,  at  times  much  longer. 

Indeed,  it  is  no  new  thing  for  the  bakery  workers  to  complain 
of  long  hours  of  work.  The  Commissions  which  investigated  the 
condition  of  bakers  in  Ireland  and  England  in  1861  and  1862 
reported  as  follows :  "  The  Committee  believes  that  the  hours  of 
labor  are  limited  by  natural  laws  which  cannot  be  violated  with 
impunity.  The  Committees  believe  that  they  cannot  work  beyond 
12  hours  a  day  without  encroaching  on  the  domestic  and  private 
life  of  the  working  man,  and  so  leading  to  disastrous  moral  results, 
interfering  with  each  man's  home  and  the  discharge  of  his  family 
duties  as  a  eon,  a  brother,  a  husband,  or  a  father  —  that  work 
beyond  12  hours  has  a  tendency  to  undermine  the  health  of  the 
working  man,  and  so  leads  to  premature  old  age  and  death."  And 
yet,  nearly  half  a  century  later,  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  have 
in  their  superior  wisdom  decided  that  to  limit  the  hours  of  labor  of 
adult  bakers  to  60  hours  per  week  would  deprive  them  of  "  their 
freedom  of  contract,"  and  declared  the  law  unconstitutional. 

It  seems  obvious  that  even  in  trades  where  conditions  are  excep- 
tionally good  and  hygienic,  extremely  long  hours  of  labor  would  act 
injuriously  upon  the  health  of  the  workers,  and  hence  lower  the 
vitality  of  the  nation  and  the  race.  This  is  doubly  true  in  an 
industry  where,  as  we  have  seen,  all  other  conditions  of  work  are 
so  unfavorable. 

( 'h  ief  Justice  Parker  declared,  in  the  case  of  "  People  vs.  Loch- 
ner,"  "  it  is  to  the  interests  of  the  State  to  have  strong,  robust, 
healthy  citizens,  capable  of  self-support,  of  bearing  arms,  and  of 
adding  to  the  resources  of  the  nation.  Laws  to  effect  this  pur- 
pose by  protecting  the  citizen  from  overwork  and  requiring  a  gen- 
eral day  of  rest  to  restore  his  strength  and  preserve  his  health,  have 
an  obvious  connection  with  the  public  welfare."  (24.)  As  is 
well  known,  the  case  was  finally  decided  against  the  State,  as  inter- 
fering with  "  freedom  of  contract,"  as  the  court  could  not  be  con- 
vinced that  tfee  long  hours  did  interfere  with  the  health  of  the 
operatives. 


224  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

Night  Work: 

To  all  the  conditions  injuriously  affecting  the  health  of  the 
bakers  and  endangering  their  lives,  one  more,  and  a  very  im- 
portant one,  must  be  added,  viz.,  night  work. 

Night  work  in  the  baking  industry  is  at  present  prevalent  all 
ever  the  world,  with  the  exception  of  those  countries  where  it  has 
been  prohibited  by  legislative  action. 

Notwithstanding  the  prevalence  of  night  work  in  the  baking 
industry,  it  was  not  always  a  characteristic  of  this  industry. 

In  England,  night  work  dates,  according  to  the  report  of  the 
Commission  of  1862,  from  1824,  when  it  gained  a  footing  in 
London. 

The  story  of  the  beginning  of  night  work  in  Paris  is  interesting, 
and  is  told  thus:  "It  was  under  Louis  XIV,  a  big  baker  on 
Ferroneri  street,  moved  through  his  jealousy  of  an  intelligent  com- 
petitor, wanted  to  have  fresh  bread  in  the  morning  before  his  rival, 
and  made  his  workmen  begin  an  hour  earlier,  that  is  to  say,  at  six 
in  the  morning,  instead  of  seven.  The  rival,  in  his  turn,  being  just 
as  short-sighted,  put  his  men  at  work  at  5  A.  M. ;  then  the  first 
man  made  it  4  o'clock.  The  other  baker  followed  the  example. 
From  4  o'clock  in  the  morning  they  went  to  three,  and  so  forth, 
from  baker  to  baker,  until  the  day  work  was  replaced  by  night 
work."  (16.) 

From  Paris  the  custom  of  night  work  spread  to  other  cities,  and 
then  to  foreign  countries.  According  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Ger- 
man bakers,  night  work  in  Germany  was  a  Paris  innovation,  and 
dates  back  about  120  years. 

At  present,  in  the  United  States  and  in  other  countries  where 
night  work  is  not  prohibited,  work  in  bakeries  begins  at  any  time 
between  8  and  12  p.  m. 

The  effects  of  night  work  upon  the  health  of  the  workers  is 
extremely  bad.  The  following  passage  from  "  The  Dawn,"  a 
daily  paper  of  Lugano,  Italy,  December  1st,  1906,  states  the 
effects  of  night  work  very  admirably : 

"All  night  work  is  harmful  to  the  body,  even  if  it  is  voluntary ; 
if  it  is  compulsory,  it  is  still  more  so;  when  it  is  habitual,  it  also 
becomes  harmful  morally,  because  it  upsets  the  customs  of  life, 
which  are  founded  on  the  laws  of  nature,  and  in  this  way,  banishes 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  225 

the  workmen  far  from  the  social  life.  If  it  were  absolutely  neces- 
sary, the  night  work  of  the  bakers  would  be  a  sad  necessity ;  forced 
on  them  merely  by  a  custom,  it  is  an  injustice  for  which  we  are  all 
to  blame.  To  wish  that  it  be  kept  up,  not  for  necessity's  sake,  but 
for  our  pleasure,  shows  the  harsh  egoism  of  a  race  not  yet  refined 
by  the  civilization  of  which  it  boasts."  (16.) 

Dr.  Epstein,  in  his  book  "Arbeiterkrankheiten,"  speaks  of  the 
effects  of  the  long  hours  of  labor  and  of  night  work  as  follows : 

"  The  long  working  hours,  which  would  be  sufficient  cause  to 
bring  on  grave  effects  on  health,  fall,  in  the  bakery  business,  on 
that  part  of  the  day  which  nature  has  destined  for  sleep.  Doctors 
and  hygiene  experts  are  unanimous  in  declaring  that  sleep  at  night 
can  in  no  wise  be  replaced  by  sleep  in  the  daytime,  and  that  a 
prolonged  scorn  of  the  need  of  sleep  must  ruin  a  man's  health.  It 
is  also  clear  that  this  degeneration  in  health  is  not  shown  by  the 
specific  diseases,  but  by  a  general  weakening  of  the  body,  whose 
resistance  to  the  normal  or  pathological  excitations  of  existence 
(contagious  diseases)  is  destroyed.  The  most  recent  inquiries  on 
the  cases  of  over  work  show  that  we  are  really  in  the  presence  of 
chemical  intoxication."  (28.) 


III. 
THE  DISEASES  OF  THE  BAKERS. 

In  order  to  study  the  effects  of  the  unsanitary  conditions  of  the 
bakeries  and  the  unhygienic  circumstances  under  which  the  work 
is  conducted,  bakers  have  been  from  time  to  time  examined  and 
their  mortality  from  certain  diseases  determined. 

Hoffman  refers  to  a  medical  examination  of  933  bakers,  under- 
taken in  New  Jersey  in  1892. 

The  physical  examination  of  800  bakers,  made  under  the  aus- 
pices of  the  New  York  State  Factory  Commission  during  October, 
is  the  only  medical  examination  of  bakers  ever  made  in  this  State. 

The  examination  was  made  during  the  four  weeks  beginning 
with  October  25th  and  ending  November  10th,  1911,  and  was  con- 
8 


226  BAKERIES  AND  BAXERS. 

ducted  under  my  immediate  direction  by  a  staff  of  six  physicians, 
the  majority  of  whom  weru  recent  graduates  from  reputable  medi- 
cal colleges,  and  who  had  had  from  one  to  three  years'  hospital  prac- 
lirc  after  graduation.  The  examination  was  conducted  in  the 
bakeries,  simultaneously  with  inspections  of  the  shops,  and  in  a 
number  of  cases  with  the  aid  of  interpreters  furnished  by  the 
Baker's  Union,  which  assisted  us  in  all  possible  ways. 

The  majority  of  examinations  were  made  during  the  hours 
between  8  p.  m.  and  12  m.,  although  some  were  also  made  in  the 
earlier  hours  of  the  day.  In  all  cases  the  chest  of  the  baker  was 
bared  and  a  stethoscopic  examination  made,  each  examination  lu.-t- 
ing  from  fifteen  minutes  in  negative  cases,  to  a  half  hour  or  more 
in  cases  where  there  was  a  positive  indication  of  some  pathological 
condition. 

As  already  noted,  all  districts  of  the  city  have  been  covered,  and 
examinations  made  in  good  and  bad  bakeries.  A  number  of  men 
of  every  nationality  were  examined,  although  Russian  workers 
constituted  the  largest  number  of  those  examined.  The  exami- 
nation card  shows  the  method  of  inquiry.  All  the  bakeries  in- 
spected were  union  shops  and  the  bakers  were  union  members,  and 
these,  it  is  probable,  are  in  a  better  physical  condition  than  non- 
union members,  who  usually  work  under  less  favorable  conditions. 

No  correlated  tabulation  has  as  yet  been  made  on  account  of  lack 
of  time,  and  there  are  a  number  of  points  not  yet  brought  out  in 
our  examination,  such  as  the  relation  of  the  nationalities  to  the 
kind  of  bakeries  and  the  sanitary  conditions,  the  relations  of  the 
ages  and  the  times  of  entering  trade,  the  relation  of  age  of  work- 
ers to  the  diseases,  etc.,  and  many  other  points  which  will  be  taken 
up  later  in  a  supplementary  report  on  all  of  the  food-producing 
trades. 

The  physicians  in  the  first  few  days  of  the  examinations  took, 
as  a  matter  of  routine,  the  sputum  of  every  man  examined,  but  the 
120  specimens  taken  were  all  negative,  and  as  it  was  extremely 
difficult  to  get  any  real  sputum  by  this  method,  this  test  was  omitted 
in  the  later  examinations.  The  examination  was  made  in  the  shop, 
in  the  presence  of  all  other  employees,  the  workers  submitting  with 
will  and  interest.  No  secondary  examination  was  made  even  of 
cases  where  a  positive  indication  of  tuberculosis  was  found. 


BAKERIES  AND   BAKERS.  227 

Table  VII  shows  the  results  of  the  examination.  The  tabula- 
tion has  not  yet  been  made  in  detail  and  is  not  complete. 
Where  anemia  was  put  down  by  the  physicians  as  a  disease,  they 
were  instructed  to  describe  only  well-defined  or  extreme  cases, 
not  slight  paleness. 

Of  the  800  bakers  examined,  347,  or  43  per  cent,  were  found 
free  from  any  disease,  while  453,  or  57  per  cent,  had  some  indi- 
cation of  defective  physical  condition. 

The  diseases  found  were,  as  seen  from  the  table :  Tuberculosis, 
19:  "Bronchitis,  177;  Pleurisy,  2;  Venereal  Diseases,  3;  Diseases 
of  the  Skin,  59.  The  percentages  given  refer  to  the  whole  number 
examined  (800).  Deducting  the  cases  of  anemia,  rhinitis,  all 
digestive  diseases,  all  hernia  cases  and  all  of  flat  feet,  there  still 
remain  422  separate  cases  of  diseased  conditions. 

The  data  which  is  important  in  an  effort  to  determine  the  effects 
of  an  industry  upon  the  workers,  is  in  regard  to  the  average  life, 
the  general  mortality  rate,  the  mortality  rate  from  special  causes, 
the  general  morbidity  rate,  and  the  morbidity  rate  from  special 
diseases. 

The  Average  Life: 

Bakers  are,  according  to  all  authorities,  a  short-lived  race. 

Arlidge  says  (25),  "  those  who  have  read  the  reports  on  hygienic 
state  of  bakc-housos,  and  the  circumstances  of  labor  in  them,  will 
not  be  surprised  that  the  mortality  of  bakers  ranges  high." 

The  average  life  of  bakers,  according  to  older  statisticians,  is 
50.3,  according  to  Neufvill  (51) ;  according  to  Hirt  (26),  45.1; 
according  to  Spatz,  36.2 ;  according  to  the  English  Commission  of 
1862  (Marx),  42.  According  to  Fox,  few  bakers  last  more  than 
20  years  in  the  trade  (28). 

General  Mortality,  and  Mortality  from  Special  Diseases: 

According  to  the  English,  French  and  Swiss  statistics,  the 
average  mortality  of  bakers  does  not  range  very  high  in  compari- 
son with  workers  in  other  trades.  A  possible  explanation  of  this 
fact  is  the  known  tendency  of  bakers  to  forsake  their  trade  in 
their  old  age,  or  before  they  become  old,  so  that  the  number  of 


228 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


TABLE 
PRELIMINARY  TABULATION  OF  THE  RESULTS  OF  A  PHYSICAL 


NUMBER 

NATIONALITY 

Number 

m 
1 

Russian 

German 

Austrian 

1 

Bohemian 

Hungarian 

I 

Total  number  of  bakers  examined  

800 

100 

249 

214 

106 

102 

42 

25 

22 

Number  of  bakers  in  normal  condition,  i.  e 
free  from   any  disease  or  deformity 
noted  below  

347 
453 

19 
47 
183 
3 

43 
57 

82 
167 

138 
176 

23 

83 

33 
69 

28 
14 

13 
12 

8 
14 

Number  of  bakers  with  one  or  more  dis- 
eases noted  below  

General  diseases: 
•Tuberculosis  

2.4 
5.9 
22.9 
.4 

10 

71 

A 

4 
20 
13 

4 
5 
48 

2 
5 

38 

1 

j 

1 

3 

Rheumatism  

t  Anaemia  

Venereal  diseases  

Total  general  diseases  

252 

83 
2 
6 
1 
6 

31.6 
10.3 

>:: 

90 

37 

57 

46 

< 

— 

3 

Diseases  of  the  nervous  system  and  organs 
of  special  sense  : 
Diseases  of  the  eye: 
Chronic  conjunctivitis  

34 

7 
3 

3 

30 

1 

13 
1 

.... 

Keratitis  

Blepharitis  

Nyastagmus  

1 

1 

1 

Other  nervous  diseases  

Total  nervous  and  special  sense  diseases  .  . 

Disease  of  the  circulatory  system: 
JCardiae  diseases  

98 

11.9 

6.8 
5.1 

44 

4 
16 

32 

15 

2 

1 

1 

54 

41 

17 
17 

11 

13 

7 
8 

1 
1 

Phlebitis  

Total  diseases  of  circulatory  system  

95 

177 
2 
21 
6 

11.9 

22.1 
.3 
2.6 
.8 

34 

58 

"5 
3 

16 

24 

15 

2 

2 

7 

Diseases  of  the  respiratory  system: 
Bronchitis  

49 
1 
5 

30 

1 
5 

21 

4 

5 

Pleurisy  

Asthma  and  emphysema  

1 
3 

3 

Rhinitis  

Total  diseases  respiratory  system  

206 

21 
14 
15 
26 

25.8 

\4'4 

1.9 
3.3 

66 

55 

36 

25 

7 

5 

7 

Diseases  of  the  digestive  system: 
Tonsilitis  

M 
'! 

2 
2 
1 

s 

11 

Pharyngitis  

2 

4 
8 

1 

Gastritis  

1 
3 

1 

Hernia  

Total  diseases  digestive  system  

Diseases  of  the  genito-urinary  system: 
Nephritis  

76 
2 

23 
16 
6 

4 

9.5 

29 

13 

14 

15 

1 

1 

.3 

1 

1 

Diseases  of  the  skin: 

6 
6 

7 

7 
2 

6 

1 
5 

6 
3 

6 

2 

Ecsema  

Uloeration     

1 

1 

1 

Scabies  

Other  skin  diseases  

10 

) 

Total  skin  diseases  

59 

54 

842 

7.4 
6.8 

19 

15 

6 

14 
5 

3 

4 

1 

1 
3 

--_    ?  -_^ 

17 

Disease*  of  the  organs  of  locomotion: 
FUt  foot  

25 

3 

13 

Total  number  of  cases  

308 

144 

182 

135 

19 

16 

•Includes  tuberculosis  suspects.        t  Facial  evidence  only.        t  Includes  5  cases  palpitation, 
enlargement,  2  muffled  action,  1  pericarditis.  1  atheroma  of  aorta.        f  Includes  104   bakers 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


229 


VII 

EXAMINATION  OF  800  BAKERS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 


AGES 

NUMBER  OFTEAR8 
IN  TRADE 

AGE  ON  ENTERING 
TRADE 

MARITAL 
CONDITION 

American 

Other 
Nationalities 

Under 
16  years 

16-44  years 

45  years 
and  over 

Under  1  year 

8 

s 

? 

10 

I 

O 

Under 
16  years 

16-20  years 

Over  20  years 

S 

o 

1 

• 

10 

30 

3 

684 

113 

24 

53 

§723 

H466 

195 

139 

612 

188 

4 
6 

18 
12 

292 
392 

55 
58 

19 
5 

22 
31 

306 
417 

220 
246 

70 
125 

48 
91 

263 
349 

84 
104 

3 

'3 

1 
3 
2 

16 
29 
163 
3 

3 

18 
18 

1 

3 

15 

47 
163 
2 

7 
28 
106 
1 

4 
7 
41 
1 

8 
12 
36 
1 

16 
39 
140 
2 

3 
8 
43 
1 

2 

5 

15 

1 

3 

6 
1 

2 

211 

77 
9 
5 

39 
6 

6 

19 

227 

142 

53 

57 

15 
3 
3 

197 

46 
8 
4 

55 

37 

1 
2 

3 
1 

1 

80 
8 
5 

49 
4 
1 

19 
2 
2 

1 

1 

91 

7 

5 

93 

54 

23 

21 

58 

40 

10 
3 

1 

47 
34 

7 
7 

1 

2 
1 

51 
40 

30 
29 

15 

7 

9 
5 

44 

38 

1 

1 
2 

1 

81 

14 

1 

3 

91 

59 

32 

4 

82 

13 

1 

2 

148 
2 
12 
6 

27 

3 

10 

164 
2 
21 
6 

100 
1 
14 
3 

36 

1 
2 
1 

41 

139 
2 
20 
4 

38 

1 

1 

9 

5 

2 

1 
2 

3 

2 

1 

2 

168 

36 

3 

10 

193 

118 

40 

48 

165 

41 

19 
13 
14 
19 

2 
1 
1 

7 

1 

3 

17 
14 
14 
25 

14 
8 
9 
15 

4 
4 
4 
2 

3 

2 
2 

y 

15 
10 
13 
24 

6 

4 
2 
2 

1 

2 

1 

^ 

3 

65 
1 

23 
16 

16 

11 
1 

2 

4 

70 
2 

46 

14 

1 

9 
2 

7 

16 

62 
2 

14 

1 

1 

1 

4 
1 

4 

18 
15 

14 

13 
11 

9 

1 
3 

4 

9 
14 

12 

14 
2 

8 

2 

2 

2 

1 

2 

55 

2 
9 

3 

9 

47 

33 
39 

18 

8 

35 

24 

45 

1 

53 

10 

5 

48 

6 
193 

8 

13 

6 

717    119 

15 

51    776 

49S 

191 

160 

649 

15  rapid  action,   15  murmur,    5  endocardita,    4  arteriosclerosis,   4    regurgitation,   2  cardiac 
who  have  been  over  30  years  in  the  trade.         5  In  detail. 


230  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

bakers  dying  from  all  causes  is  not  the  true  criterion  of  the  gen- 
eral mortality  rate  of  all  the  bakers. 

Leclerc  de  Pulligny  notes  u  that  the  special  death  rate  of  bakers 
in  the  cities  is  affected  by  the  fact  that  among  these  are  also  in- 
cluded the  master  bakers,  who,  as  a  rule,  succeed  in  preserving 
their  health  in  spite  of  the  dangers  of  their  trade."  (29.) 

According  to  Tatham  (27),  the  general  mortality  figure  of  bak- 
ers in  England  was  177,  while  that  of  agriculturists  was  100. 
!I<  re,  too,  as  in  many  of  the  other  statistics,  bakers  are  grouped 
with  confectioners,  who;  as  a  rule,  work  under  better  conditions 
and  are  not  so  affected  by  their  trade. 

The  general  mortality  rate  of  bakers  and  confectioners,  as  well 
as  the  mortality  rate  from  special  causes  has  been  discussed  in 
detail  in  Frederick  Hoffman's  article,  Bulletin  No.  82,  Depart- 
ment of  Labor.  (24.)  The  following  are  Hoffman's  comments 
on  the  subject : 

"  In  1900  the  number  of  bakers  and  confectioners  reported  in 
the  registration  States  was  39,181,  among  whom  there  occurred  483 
deaths  from  all  causes,  or  12.3  per  1,000.  The  death  rates  by 
divisional  periods  of  life  were  slightly  higher  for  bakers  at  all 
ages  except  25  to  34.  The  differences  were  not  marked,  or,  to  be 
specific,  at  ages  25  to  44,  the  rates  were  7.9  for  bakers,  against  8.4 
for  males  in  the  manufacturing  and  chemical  industries.  At  ages 
45  to  64  the  rates  were  23.4  and  20.2,  respectively;  and  at  ages 
65  and  over,  105.8  for  bakers  and  confectioners,  and  105.4  for 
males  in  the  manufacturing  and  mechanical  industries.  The  mor- 
tality from  consumption  among  bakers  was  2.5  per  1,000;  from 
pneumonia,  1.2,  and  from  other  diseases  of  the  respiratory  sys- 
tem, 0.4.  In  commenting  upon  the  mortality,  it  is  stated  in  the 
census  report  that: 

"  The  highest  death  rates  (per  100,000)  of  bakers  and  confec- 
tioners were  due  to  consumption  (250.1),  diseases  of  the  urinary 
organs  (145.5),  diseases  of  the  nervous  system  (160.8),  and  pneu- 
monia (117.4),  but  the  rates  due  to  all  of  these  diseases  except  dis- 
eases of  the  urinary  organs  were  lower  than  the  average  rate?  in 
this  class.  The  rates  from  diseases  of  the  liver  (45.9)  and  other 
diseases  of  the  digestive  system  (58.7)  were  much  higher  than  the 
average  rates  from  these  diseases  in  this  class." 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKEES.  231 

The  Rhode  Island  vital  statistics  for  bakers  for  the  period  1852 
to  1900  include  221  deaths  from  all  causes,  and  of  this  number 
44,  or  19.9  per  cent,  were  from  consumption.  During  the  decade 
ending  with  1906  there  occurred  86  deaths  from  all  causes,  of 
which  15,  or  17.4  per  cent,  were  from  consumption.  Of  the  mor- 
tality from  other  respiratory  diseases,  2.3  per  cent  were  deaths 
from  asthma,  and  9.3  per  cent  deaths  from  penumonia,  a  total  of 
29  per  cent  of  deaths  from  diseases  of  the  lungs  and  air  passages. 

The  recorded  industrial  insurance  mortality  statistics  of  bakers 
include  1,357  deaths  from  all  causes,  of  which  277,  or  20.4  per 
cent,  were  from  consumption.  Of  the  mortality  of  bakers  from 
respiratory  diseases  other  than  consumption,  124  were  from  pneu- 
monia, 23  from  bronchitis,  17  from  asthma,  and  21  from  less 
frequent  respiratory  diseases.  If  the  deaths  from  consumption 
and  from  other  respiratory  diseases  are  combined,  it  is  found  that 
34  per  cent  of  the  mortality  of  bakers  are  from  the  diseases  of  the 
lungs  and  air  passages.  The  number  of  deaths  of  bakers  under  con- 
sideration is  exceptionally  large  and  strictly  representative  of  this 
important  occupation.  The  excess  in  the  consumption  mortality 
of  bakers  is  clearly  brought  out  in  the  tabular  presentation  of  the 
proportionate  mortality  from  this  disease  by  individual  periods  of 
life,  it  being  excessive  at  all  ages  below  65,  but  most  so  at  ages 
25  to  34,  when,  out  of  every  100  deaths  from  all  causes,  42.8  were 
from  consumption,  against  a  normal  expected  proportion  of  31.3. 

The  preceding  observations  and  mortality  statistics,  included  in 
the  insurance  experience,  are  much  at  variance  with  each  other,  and 
do  not  entirely  warrant  definite  conclusions.  It  is  somewhat  open 
to  question  how  the  general  official  statistics  are  impaired  in  value 
by  the  inclusion  of  confectioners,  who  are,  probably,  less  exposed  to 
flour  and  other  organic  dust  than  bakers.  The  most  convincing 
(statistics  are  those  for  Switzerland,  and  the  industrial  insurance 
experience  data,  both  of  which  indicate  an  excess  in  the  degree  of 
consumption  frequency,  although  not  at  identical  periods  of  life. 
Taking  all  the  facts,  however,  into  careful  consideration,  they 
would  seem  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  consumption  is  of  more 
frequent  occurrence  among  bakers  than  among  occupied  males  gen- 
erally, and  that  the  degree  of  excess  in  consumption  frequency  is 
partly  the  result  of  continuous  and  considerable  inhalation  of  flour 


232  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

dust.  The  mortality  rate  is  also  affected  by  the  general  conditions 
under  which  the  work  of  a  baker  is  carried  on,  including  excessive 
hours,  unsanitary  conditions  of  bake-shops,  night  work,  etc.  The 
occupation  is  exceedingly  important,  both  as  regards  the  baker  him- 
self and  the  public  at  large,  and  a  further  and  more  thorough  inves- 
tigation into  the  mortality  of  this  occupation  would  be  a  most  valu- 
able contribution  to  industrial  hygiene." 

General  Morbidity,  and  Morbidity  Rate  from  Special  Diseases: 

As  already  noted  in  Hoffman's  statistics,  the  number  of  bakers 
dying  from  tuberculosis,  respiratory  and  other  diseases,  is  quite 
high.  This  is  in  conformity  with  the  well-known  prevalence  of 
certain  diseases  among  bakers. 

Our  medical  inspection  of  800  bakers  seems  to  confirm  the  fact 
that  bakers  are  specially  liable  to  some  diseases  more  than  to  others. 

Respiratory  Diseases-' 

Of  the  800  bakers  examined,  177  were  suffering  from  acute  or 
chronic  bronchitis;  2  from  sub-acute  pleurisy,  21  from  asthma  and 
emphysema,  and  6  from  chronic  rhinitis,  in  all  206,  or  25  per  cent 
of  all  the  bakers  suffered  from  some  form  of  respiratory  disease, 
22.1  per  cent  from  bronchitis  alone.  This  rate  is  very  much 
higher  than  in  any  other  trade,  and  is  probably  due  to  bad  ven- 
tilation in  bakeries,  to  the  draughts,  to  the  high  temperatures  and 
relatively  high  humidity  in  bakeries. 

The  prevalence  of  bronchitis  among  bakers  was  commented  upon 
over  200  years  ago  by  Rammazzini.  (15.)  Of  the  1,000  members 
of  the  Bakers'  Union  in  Vienna  in  1890-3,  there  was  an  average 
sickness  from  respiratory  diseases  yearly,  102,  of  which  58  suf- 
fered from  acute  and  chronic  bronchitis,  with  a  general  morbidity 
rate  from  respiratory  diseases  of  38.8  per  cent.  (28.)  Epstein 
also  remarks  upon  the  occurrence  of  chronic  rhinitis  among  bakers, 
and  he  also  ascribes  chronic  bronchitis  among  bakers  to  the  con- 
stant inhalation  of  bad  air,  flour,  dust,  etc. 

The  mortality  rate  of  bakers  from  consumption  has  already  been 
referred  to  in  the  extract  from  Hoffman's  article.  In  our  exami- 
nation only  a  little  less  than  2.4  per  cent  were  found  to  suffer  from 
tuberculosis.  This  rate  is  probably  not  greater  than  among 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  233 

workers  of  other  trades,  although  it  is  possible  and  highly  probable 
that  a  number  of  those  w£o  were  stated  by  the  physicians  to  be  suf- 
fering from  chronic  bronchitis  had  either  incipient  or  marked 
tuberculosis  infection,  a  fact  that  could  not  be  determined  in  a 
cursory  examination. 

On  the  other  hand,  statistics  from  Italy,  Rome,  Berlin,  Leipzig, 
do  not  show  a  high  percentage  of  bakers  suffering  from  tuber- 
culosis. 

Epstein,  however,  examined  98  bakers  and  found  among  them 
32  suffering  from  tuberculosis.  (28.) 

The  general  morbidity  rate  of  bakers  is  very  high  according  to 
the  results  of  our  examination.  Of  the  800  bakers  examined, 
206  were  suffering  from  respiratory  diseases,  50  from  digestive  dis- 
eases, 59  from  skin  diseases.  In  all  there  were  only  347,  or  43  per 
cent,  of  the  men  who  were  free  from  any  pathological  condition. 

Bakers  are  notoriously  pale.  183  were  strikingly  anaemic,  ac- 
cording to  our  physicians.  This  prevalence  of  anaemia  among 
bakers  confirm  statements  made  by  other  observers.  According  to 
investigations  made  by  Epstein  of  183  bakers,  one-sixth  had  a 
lower  hemoglobin  count  than  usual.  Epstein  thinks  that  the  pale- 
ness of  bakers  does  not  depend  so  much  upon  the  decreased  per- 
centage of  hemoglobin,  as  upon  their  infection  with  tuberculosis. 
(28.) 

Of  the  circulatory  diseases  found  among  the  800  examined, 
there  were  54  or  6.8  per  cent  with  distinct  cardiac  lesions.  This  is 
also  in  conformity  with  the  finding  of  others. 

There  are  a  comparatively  large  number  of  eye  diseases  (11.5 
per  cent),  which  are  chiefly  due  to  work  done  in  cellars,  in  front 
of  ovens,  with  artificial  light,  and  in  dusty  atmosphere. 

The  large  percentage  of  hernia,  9.5,  is  also  noted  in  all  other 
examinations  of  bakers,  as  well  as  the  prevalence  of  flat  feet. 
(6.8  per  cent.) 

Of  diseases  of  the  skin,  there  were  59,  or  7.4  per  cent,  suf- 
fering from  scabies.  A  distinctly  occupational  disease  is  "  baker's 
itch."  Eczema  is  also  very  frequent  among  workers  in  bakeries. 

The  prevalence  of  infectious  skin  diseases  is  an  additional  reason 
that  workers  who  handle  the  bread  products  should  be  periodi- 
cally examined,  and  that  workers  suffering  from  these  diseases 
should  be  isolated. 


234  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

Our  physical  examination  of  800  bakers,  incomplete  as  it  was, 
and  incomplete  as  is  our  tabulation,  seems  to  confirm  all  pre- 
vious investigations  made  abroad  and  in  this  country,  and  also 
confirms  the  general  statement  as  to  the  evil  effects  of  unsanitary 
conditions  of  the  bakeries  upon  the  health  of  the  workers  in  the 
trade,  and  the  need  of  remedial  measures  to  remove  these  evils. 


PART  THIRD 
REMEDIES 

The  sanitary  inspection  of  bakeries  and  the  physical  examina- 
tion of  bakers,  as  well  as  the  opinions  of  the  authorities  and  com- 
missions, all  prove  that  very  serious  evils  exist  in  this  important 
industry,  evils  which  are  a  menace  to  the  lives  of  the  workers  as 
well  as  to  the  health  of  the  great  consuming  public.  What,  then, 
are  the  remedies  ?  Are  remedies  possible  ?  Can  bakeries  be  made 
sanitary?  Can  the  industry  be  conducted  under  hygienic  con- 
ditions? If  remedies  are  imperative,  shall  they  be  applied  from 
within  by  a  reform  of  the  industry'  itself,  or  from  without  by  con- 
certed public  and  'legislative  action? 

There  cannot  be  any  doubt  that  conditions  are  too  grave  to  leave 
things  alone  until  such  a  time  as  the  industry  reforms  from 
witihin.  Consideration  of  the  health  of  the  workers  and  of  the 
community  demands  speedy  and  immediate  action  to  at  least 
ameliorate  the  worst  evils  existing  in  the  trade.  It  is,  therefore; 
imperative  to  apply  legislative  remedial  measures  in  the  interests 
of  the  public  health. 

What  direction  should  legislative  action  take?  What  restric- 
tions are  needed,  and  what  regulation  is  necessary  to  begin  with  ? 

A  study  of  the  subject  will  lead  us  to  the  deduction  that 
remedial  legislation  in  regard  to  bakeries  must  be  in  the  following 
four  directions. 

(1)  Abolition  of  Cellar  Bakeries. 

(2)  Licensing  of  Industry. 

(3)  Strict  Supervision  by  the  State. 

(4)  Medical  and  Physical  Examination. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  235 

Abolition  of  Cellar  Bakeries: 

.Xo  remedial  legislation  will  be  of  any  avail  which  does  not 
prevent  the  location  of  this  trade  in  underground  cellars.  This  is 
the  first  principle  upon  which  all  efforts  to  lessen  the  evils  of  un- 
sanitary bakeries  must  be  based.  It  may  be  put  down  without  fear 
of  contradiction, —  and  this  opinion  is  shared  by  all  the  health  and 
factory  officials  interviewed, —  that  no  bakery  can  ever  be  sanitary 
as  long  as  it  is  located  in  a  cellar. 

A  cellar  is  an  unfit  place  for  the  manufacture  of  food  stuffs,  or 
for  the  habitation  of  workers.  There  cannot  be  any  natural  light 
in  a  cellar  under  the  most  favorable  conditions,  and  no  place  can  be 
sanitary  that  lacks  sunlight.  Cellars  are  the  most  difficult  places 
to  ventilate  unless  mechanical  ventilation  is  installed,  which  is  out 
of  the  question  in  the  ordinary  small  bakery.  Cellars  in  which 
bakeries  are  located  cannot  have  a  temperature  which  is  healthy 
for  workers ;  they  are  too  near  the  ground  and  the  emanation  from 
the  ground,  and  the  ovens  and  the  heated  atmosphere  needed  for 
dough  raising,  make  it  almost  impossible  for  cellar  bakeries  to  have 
ft  moderate  and  equable  temperature  in  the  absence  of  proper  venti- 
lation. Cellars  cannot  be  kept  clean  as  other  parts  of  the  house, 
for  they  are  semi-dark,  contain  most  of  the  plumbing  pipes  and  fix- 
tures, and  are,  as  a  rule,  the  dumping  ground  of  the  whole  house. 
Cellars  are  also  the  natural  habitation  of  insects,  rodents,  etc.,  and 
are  also  in  proximity  to  breeding  places  of  flies,  which  are  attracted 
to  the  food  stuffs. 

The  abolition  of  cellar  bakeries  is,  therefore,  the  first  remedial 
legislation  which  suggests  itself  in  any  scheme  of  bakery  reform. 

Of  course,  there  are  rare  exceptions,  as  already  noted,  where  a 
celler  may  not  be  absolutely  unsanitary,  but  they  are  so  rare  as  to 
be  negligible. 

The  question  which  naturally  comes  up  next  is  whether  the  use 
of  cellars  should  be  prohibited  at  once,  or  whether  this  reform 
should  be  carried  out  gradually  ? 

In  all  propositions  to  abolish  serious  evils,  the  argument  is 
brought  up  that  a  large  class  of  persons  will  suffer  great  hardship 
if  conditions  are  changed.  But  this  hardship  is  inevitable,  and  has 
been  urged  against  all  progressive  steps  in  civilization  from  the  in- 
troduction of  machinery  and  railroads  to  the  introduction  of  motor 
cars. 


236  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

There  is,  however,  the  possibility  of  gradually  abolishing  cellar 
bakeries  without  inflicting  too  great  hardships  upon  those  engaged 
in  the  work,  by  prohibiting  any  further  bakeries  from  locating  in 
cellars  and  by  raising  the  standards  for  existing  bakeries  so 
that  the  extensive  alterations  required  will  gradually  drive  the 
trade  out  of  its  subterranean  habitations. 

Licensing  of  Industry: 

There  are  a  number  of  industries  to  which  the  principle  of  state 
or  municipal  licensing  has  been  already  applied.  These  indus- 
tries have  one  or  more  features  which  make  their  control  needed 
in  the  interest  of  public  health.  They  are  either  dangerous  to  life 
because  of  the  intrinsic  perils  of  the  materials  and  processes  (ex- 
plosive fireworks),  or  they  may  become  a  nuisance  to  the  neighbors 
(offensive  trades,  stables,  keeping  of  animals,  rendering  of  animal 
matters),  or  they  are  trades  that  bear  an  iatimate  relation  to  the 
public  health  (plumbing,  dairy  industry,  slaughter  houses,  etc.). 

The  bread-making  industry  is  surely  one  that  is  closely  related 
to  public  health,  and  is  one  of  the  principal  food  industries  to 
which  the  licensing  principle  should  be  applied. 

The  licensing  of  the  bakeries,  as  well  as  all  other  places  where 
food  products  are  manufactured,  is  a  public  health  measure,  as  has 
practically  been  agreed  by  all  employers  and  workers  appearing 
before  the  Commission. 

The  licensing  of  bakeries,  etc.,  would  imply  a  previous  thorough 
sanitary  inspection  of  the  place  before  granting  the  license,  and 
also  the  revocation  of  the  license  for  infringement  of  the  rules  and 
regulations  laid  down  as  a  minimum  standard  for  this  industry. 

The  licensing  of  all  bakeries  in  all  cities  is  the  immediate  step 
in  all  remedial  legislation,  and  the  trade,  the  workers,  and  the 
whole  public  are  not  only  ready  for  it,  but  are  anxious  to  have  it 
an  accomplished  fact. 

The  question  of  the  Department  under  whose  jurisdiction  this 
licensing  of  the  bakeries  should  fall  is  a  more  difficult  one.  The 
subject,  in  view  of  the  relation  of  the  product  to  tho  consumer's 
health,  lies  naturally  within  the  scope  of  the  work  of  the  Health 
Department,  but  it  also  belongs  to  the  Labor  Department  because 
of  the  necessity  for  regulation  of  the  labor  conditions.  Some  divi- 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  237 

siou  of  functions  may  be  possible,  such  as  putting  of  the  licensing 
in  the  hands  of  the  Labor  Department,  with  the  requirement  of  a 
sanitary  certificate  from  the  local  health  officials  before  the  Depart- 
ment can  issue  the  license. 

Regulation  of  Conditions: 

A  licensing  system  is  of  no  value  unless  definite  standards  are 
set  for  the  trade,  and  a  provision  made  for  the  revocation  of  the 
license.  While  the  detail  of  such  standards  may  be  left  to  the  dis- 
cretion of  the  Labor  Commissioner,  there  are  certain  definite  mini- 
mum sanitary  standards  which  should  be  defined  by  law.  Some 
tentative  standards  are  suggested  below.  There  is  only  one  neces- 
sary comment  to  make  in  respect  to  night  work.  While  the  senti- 
ment of  the  public  and  of  the  workers  is  not  as  yet  strong  enough 
to  abolish  night  work  in  this  country,  the  question  of  night  work 
and  its  effects  upon  the  health  of  the  >  workers  is  very  important 
from  a  hygienic  standpoint,  since  healtfay  products  cannot  very 
well  be  prepared  by  unhealthy  workers. 

The  regulation  of  the  hours  of  labor  is  a  most  necessary  function 
of  the  State,  and  I  believe  there  has  been  accumulated  during  the 
last  few  years  sufficient  evidence  to  show  that  a  regulation  of  the 
hours  of  bakers  to  sixty  per  week,  or  even  less,  will  be  no  infringe- 
ment of  the  most  sacred  right,  ''  freedom  of  contract,"  for  it  will 
be  in  the  interest  of  public  health,  and  is,  therefore,  a  just  ex- 
ercise of  the  police  power  of  the  State. 

Simultaneously  with  a  legal  maximum  of  weekly  and  daily  hours 
of  labor,  a  law  is  needed  to  regulate  night  work,  by  making  a 
shorter  (eight  hour)  period  for  all  night  work.  Such  a  legal  regu- 
lation seems  to  be  most  desirable  in  the  interests  of  the  industry, 
the  workers  and  the  public  health. 

Physical  Examination-' 

A  system  of  medical  examination  of  employees  entering  the 
trade  has  already  been  introduced  into  many  industries,  and  all 
civil  service  positions  require  a  more  or  less  rigid  medical  ex- 
amination. Many  private  corporations,  such  as  railroads,  tele- 
graph companies,  stores  and  certain  other  industrial  establish- 
ments require  a  previous  physical  examination. 


238  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL  REFERENCES. 

(  1  )      R.  B.  FOSDICK.  —  A  Report  on  the  Sanitary  Conditions  of  Bakeries  in 
New  York,  April  18,  1911. 

(2)     KABL  MABX.  —  Das  Kapital. 

(  3  )     W.  A.  GUY.  —  The  Case  of  the  Journeymen  Bakers  ;  being  a  Lecture  on 
the  Evik  of  Night  Work  and  Long  Hours  of  Labor.     1848. 

(4)     LANCET.  —  Report  of  the  Lancet  Special  Commission  on  Bakeries  and 
Bread  Making.     London,  1889-1890,  Lancet. 

(6)     F.  J.  WALDO  and  D.  WALSH.  —  Bread,  Bakehouses  and  Bacteria.     Lon- 
don, 1895. 

(6)  S.  MUBPHY.  —  Report  of  the  Medical  Officer  on  the  Sanitary  Conditions 

of  Bakehouses,  Feb.  1,  1894. 

(7)  BEBEL.  —  Zur  Lage  der  Arbeiter  in  den  Backereien,  1890. 

(8)  BEBEL.  —  Ein  Nothschrei  der  Backerarbeiter  Deutschlands.     Ergebniss 

der  vom  Verbrand  der  Backer  «.  s.  w.  aufgennomenen   Erhebungen, 
1898. 

(9)  REBEL.  —  La  Misfire  des  Garcons  Boulaugers  de  la  Ville  et  Faubourgs 

dc    l';iri;s    ('I  roves,   1715). 

(10)  BONABD.  —  Noveau  Jour  Pour  La  Cuisson  du  Pain.     Annal   d'hygiene, 

1834. 

(11)  RIGAU.  —  Sur  la  Boulangerie  au  Point  de  Vue  de  1'Hygiene  Publique, 


(12)  RIGAU.  —  Bakehouse  Sanitation.    An  Inquiry  into  the  Conditions  Sur- 

rounding  Bakeries    and   Journeymen    Bakers    in   Relation    to    Public 
Health,  96.     Brooklyn. 

(13)  "Inquirer,"    1895.     Philadelphia,   Pa.     Bakers   and   Bakehouses,   Their 

Conditions,  etc. 

(14)  Dr.    C.    MOLLEB  —  Gesundheitsbuch    fiir    das     Backergewerbe,    Berlin, 

1898. 

(15)  RAMMAZZINI.  —  Treatise  on  Diseases  of  Tradesmen,  1705. 

(16)  M.    BOUTELOUP.  —  Le   Travail   de   Nuit   dans    les   Boulangeries,    Paris, 

1909. 

(17)  CHAS.  B.  BALL.  —  Sanitation  of  Bakeries  and  Restaurant  Kitchens.    J. 

Am.  Pub.  H.  '11. 

(18)  .N.  Y.  STATE  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR  REPORTS,  1893-1896. 

(19)  REPORT  OF  TIIK  TEXKMENT  HOUSE  COMMISSION,  1894. 

(20)  THACKBAH.  —  Effects  of   Arts,  Trades   and    Profession  on   Health   and 

Longevity,  1832. 

(21)  A.  OOBLIEU.  —  Le  Sant6  de  1'Ouvrier  Boulanger. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  239 

(22)  ZADEK. —  Hygiene  der    Miiller.  Backer  und  Conditoren.     Veyl's  Hand- 

buch  der  Hygiene,  189C. 

(23)  EMMERICH. —  The     Baking    Industry    from    the    Hygienic    Standpoint. 

Deutsche  Wierteljahrshrift  fur  Gesundheitspflege,  1903. 

(24)  F.   HOFFMAN. —  Mortality   from  Consumption  in  Certain  Occupations. 

Bulletin  82,  Dept.  of  Commerce  and  Labor. 

(25)  ARLIDGE. —  The  Diseases  of  Occupation. 

(26)  HIBT — Die  Krankheiten  der  Arbeiter. 

(27)  OLIVES. —  Dangerous  Trades. 

(28)  EPSTEIN. —  Die    Krankheiten    der    Backer.      Handbuch    der    Arbeiter- 

Krankheiten,  1908. 

( 29 )  LE  CLERC  DE  PULLIGNY. —  Hygiene  Industrielle. 

SUGGESTED  MINIMUM  STANDARDS  FOR  BAKERIES. 

(1)  After  a  certain  date  no  new  bakeries  shall  be  located  in  any 
cellar,  nor  shall  any  cellar,  once  vacated,  be  again  occupied  as  a 
bakery. 

(-2)  The  owners  of  all  existing  bakeries  shall  be  required  to 
obtain  a  license  from  the  State  Labor  Department.  No  bakery 
shall  be  conducted  within  the  State  without  a  proper  license  from 
the  Labor  Department. 

(3)  The   Commissioner  of    Labor   shall   upon   application    of 
an  owner  of  a  bakery  for  a  license,  cause  an  inspection  to  be  made 
of  the  premises,  to  determine  the  compliance  with  all  the  rules  of 
rlif1  Department  and  of  the  Labor  Law,  and  shall  issue  such  license 
under  additional  certificate  of  tihe  Local  Department  of  Health  or 
Health  Officers,  certifying  that  all  sanitary  conditions  as  to  the 
manufacturing  of  food  products  have  been  complied  with. 

(4)  Said  license  shall  be  good  for  one  year  after  date  of  issue, 
?nd  shall  be  renewal  annually  only  upon  an  inspection,  and  shall 
be  revocable  for  cause  at  any  time. 

(5)  The  hours  of  labor  in  all  bakeries  for  all  workers  therein 
shall  be  limited  to  a  maximum  of  ten  hours  in  every  24  hours, 
and  to  60  hours  per  week  of  seven  days. 

(6)  No  female  worker  under  21  and  no  minor  under  18  shall 
be  permitted  to  work  more  than  8  hours  per  day,  48  hours  per 


240  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

week,  nor  shall  they  be  permitted  to  work  between  the  hours  of 
7  P.  M.  and  6  A.  M. 

(7)  Every   employee   in   a   bakery   shall  be   required  by   the 
owner  thereof  to  present  a  certificate  from  a  reputable  physician, 
said  certificate  to  state  that  a  physical  examination  has  been  made, 
and  that  he  is  free  from  any  disease  that  would  endanger  the  pub- 
lic health  while  working  at  his  trade. 

Work  falling  wholly  or  in  part  between  the  hours  of  8  P.  M. 
and  6  A.  M.  shall  be  considered  night  work,  and  shall  be  limited 
to  8  hours  in  every  24  hours. 

(8)  No  room  can  be  used  as  a  bakery  or  work  room  in  a 
bakery  in  which  artificial  light  is  needed  during  the  whole  day. 
One  window  shall  be  required,  said  window  to  be  at  least  15 
square  feet  in  area. 

(9)  A  window  space  in   a  bake  or  work   room  shall  not  be 
less  than  one-fifth  of  the  floor  space  of  such  rooms. 

(10)  At  least  450  cubic  feet  of  area  space,  and  50  square  feet 
of  floor  space  shall  be  allowed  for  every  person  employed  therein. 

(11)  Every  bakery  shall  be  provided  with  ventilating  fans,  or 
in  lieu  of  such  fans,  chimneys  may  be  arranged  so  as  to  venti- 
late bakery  properly. 

(12)  All  windows  shall  be  so  arranged  that  they  can  be  easily 
opened  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation. 

(13)  In    every   bakery    the   space    where   the   bake   oven    is 
located  shall  be  partitioned  off  by  a  fire-proof  partition  dividing 
it  from  the  rest  of  the  work  rooms. 

(14)  The  walls  and  ceilings  of  all  rooms-  in  the  bakery  shall 
be  plastered  and  cemented,  and  shall  be  painted  in  a  light  color  or 
calsomined   with  lime,   such  surface  to  be  cleaned  as  often  as 
ordered  by  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

(15)  No  wooden  floors  shall  be  permitted  in  any  part  of  the 
bakery.     All  floors  must  be  level  and  smooth  and  be  made  of 
non-absorbent  material  and  be  cleaned  daily  and  kept  clean  at  all 
times. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  241 

(16)  All    posts,    columns,    beams,    etc.,    exposed    within    any 
part  of  the  bakery  shall  be  covered  with  sheet  metal  and  painted 
over  with  light-colored  paint. 

(17)  All  windows  and  doors  opening  in  any  part  of  the  bakery 
shall  be  screened  with  copper  wire  screens  with  meshes  sufficiently 
close  to  prevent  flies   and  other  insects  from  entering  through 
same. 

(18)  Every  bakery  shall  be   equipped  with  a  sufficient  sup- 
ply of  pure  running  water  and  shall  be  provided  with  at  least  one 
sink  or  wash-basin  for  every  ten  employees,  and  provision  shall 
be  made  for  a  supply  of  hot  water. 

(19)  No  sink  or  wash-basin  or  any  fixture  within  the  bakery 
shall  be  enclosed  with  wood  work,  said  sink  or  wash-basin  to  be 
kept  in  a  sanitary  condition  at  all  times. 

(20)  Suitable    dressing    rooms,    or    places    where    workmen 
can  change  their  clothes  shall  be  provided  in  every  bakery,  and 
every   employee  in   a  bakery  while  at  work  shall   be  provided 
by  the  owners,   free  of  cost,   suitable  caps,   slippers,   overalls  or 
aprons,  which  shall  be  laundered  at  least  twice  a  week,  or  oftener 
if  necessary,  free  of  cost  to  the  employee. 

(21)  No  chewing  tobacco  or  spitting  on  floors  in  bakeries  shall 
be  permitted,  nor  shall  smoking  be  permitted  to  the  employees 
while  at  work. 

(22)  No  person  shall  be  permitted  to  sleep  in  any  part  of 
a  bakery,  or  in  rooms  where  flour  or  meal  used  in  connection  there- 
with, or  where  any  food  products  are  handled  or  stored. 

(23)  Cuspidors  of  impervious  material  shall  be  provided,  and 
cleansed  daily. 

(24)  No  water-closets  or  urinals  shall  be  permitted  in  any  bake 
shop  or  bake  rooms.     All  such  fixtures  shall  be  placed  in  separate 
departments  provided  with  a  window  to  the  outer  air,  and  pro- 
vided with  artificial  illumination  wherever  it  is  necessary. 

(25)  All  utensils  used  in  a  bakery,  and  all  places  upon  which 
the  unfinished  or  finished  materials  are  placed  or  stored  shall  be 


242  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

made  of  such  material  as  may  readily  be  cleaned  and  shall  be  kept 
clean  at  all  times. 

(26)  All  flour,  starch,  sugar  and  all  other  products  used  in  the 
process  of  baking  shall  be  stored  either  on  platforms  or  shelves  or 
shall  be  kept  in  covered   metal   barrels    or   receptacles    so  •  as   to 
be  clean  and  free  from  all  dust  and  dirt. 

(27)  No  domestic  animals  shall  be  permitted  in  any  part  of 
a  bakery.     All  rooms  of  the  bakery  shall  be  free  of  insects,  ver- 
min, etc. 

(28)  All  persons  working  in  a  bakery  who  handle  or  touch 
the  products  therein  shall  wash  their  hands  and  arms  in  clean 
water  before  beginning  work,  and  every  time  they  change  from 
one  kind  of  work  to  another. 

(29)  They  shall  have  their  finger  nails  cleaned,  and  shall  be 
free  from  skin  disease,  or  any  infectious  diseases. 


DEPAETMENT  OF  HEALTH 
BAKERY  ORDINANCE  OF  THE  CITY  OF  CHICAGO,  1910 
Be  it  ordained  by  the  City  Council  of  the  City  of  Chicago: 

SECTION  1.  Any  place  used  for  any  process  of  mixing,  com- 
pounding, or  baking,  for  sale  or  for  purposes  of  a  restaurant, 
bakery  or  hotel,  any  bread,  biscuits,  pretzels,  crackers,  buns,  rolls, 
macaroni,  cake,  pies,  or  any  food  product  of  which  flour  or  meal 
is  a  principal  ingredient,  shall  be  deemed  a  bakery  for  the  purpose 
of  this  ordinance;  provided  that  licensed  restaurants  in  which 
any  of  the  foregoing  food  products  are  mixed  and  baked  for  con- 
sumption in  such  restaurant  only,  on  or  in  ordinary  restaurant 
kitchen  stoves  or  ranges,  and  kitchens  or  rooms  in  dwellings  where 
any  of  the  said  food  products  are  mixed  and  baked  in  an  ordinary 
kitchen  stove  or  range,  shall  not  be  considered  bakeries. 

SEC.  2.  No  person,  firm  or  corporation  shall  establish,  main- 
tain or  operate  any  bakery  without  first  having  been  licensed  so 
•to  do  by  the  city.  Every  person  or  corporation  establishing,  main- 
taining or  operating  any  such  bakery  shall  annually,  on  the  first 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  243 

day  of  May  of  each  year,  pay  a  license  fee  of  five  ($5.00)  dollars 
for  a  license  for  each  bakery  so  maintained,  which  license  shall 
be  issued  for  a  period  ending  with  the  first  day  of  May  following; 
provided,  however,  that  upon  furnishing  proof  to  the  City  Col- 
lector that  the  applicant  was  not  liable  for  a  license  fee  and  did 
not  maintain  a  bakery  without  a  license  prior  to  the  date  of  his 
application  and  after  the  taking  effect  of  this  ordinance,  a  license 
may  be  issued  for  the  unexpired  license  period,  and  in  such  case 
the  license  fee  shall  be  five  ($5.00)  dollars  for  any  such  unex- 
pired period  which  is  greater  than  six  months,  and  two  dollars 
and  fifty  cents  ($2.50)  for  any  such  unexpired  period  which  is 
equal  to  or  less  than  six  months.  Provided,  further,  that  no 
person,  firm,  or  corporation  now  holding  a  license  which  by  its 
terms  will  expire  on  May  1,  1910,  shall  be  required  to  take  out 
any  other  bakery  license  or  pay  any  additional  bakery  license 
fee  under  this  ordinance  prior  to  May  1,  1910. 

SEC.  3  Any  person  or  corporation  desiring  to  establish,  main- 
tain or  operate  a  bakery,  as  defined  in  this  ordinance,  shall  make 
application  in  writing  to  the  Commissioner  of  Health  for  a  license 
so  to  do.  Such  application  shall  set  forth  the  name  and  residence 
of  the  applicant  if  an  individual,  and  the  names  and  residences 
of  the  principal  officers  of  the  applicant,  if  a  corporation,  together 
with  the  location  of  the  place  for  which  such  license  is  desired. 

SEC.  4.  Within  ten  days  after  the  receipt  of  such  application, 
it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Commissioner  of  Health  to  make  or 
cause  to  be  made  an  examination  of  the  place  described  in  such 
application,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  the  location, 
lighting,  ventilation,  sanitary  arrangements  and  equipment  of 
such  bakery  conform  to  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance.  If  the 
porposed  bakery  conforms  to  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance,  the 
Commissioner  of  Health  shall  transmit  £uch  application  to  the 
Mayor  with  his  approval  thereof,  whereupon  the  Mayor  shall  issue 
or  cause  to  be  issued  to  such  applicant,  upon  payment  to  the  City 
Collector  of  the  license  fee  hereinbefore  provided,  a  license 
authorizing  such  applicant  to  keep,  conduct  or  maintain  a  bakery 
at  the  place  described  in  such  application  for  and  during  the 
period  of  such  license. 


244  BAKEBIES  AND  BAKERS. 

SEC.  5.  If  at  any  time  during  the  term  of  such  license  the 
Commissioner  of  Health  shall  certify  to  the  Mayor  that  the  pro- 
visions of  the  ordinance  have  not  been  or  are  not  being  complied 
with,  or  that  the  public  health  or  the  health  of  the  persons  em- 
ployed in  any  such  bakery  is  endangered  by  its  maintenance, 
the  Mayor  may  revoke  the  license  thereof. 

SEC.  G.  Every  such  license  granted  under  the  provisions  of 
this  ordinance  shall  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  bakery 
for  which  such  license  is  issued. 

SEC.  7.  Every  place  used  as  a  bakery  shall  be  kept  in  a  clean 
and  sanitary  condition  as  to  its  floors,  side  walls,  ceilings,  wood- 
work, fixtures,  furniture,  tools,  machinery  and  utensils.  All  parts 
of  'the  bakery  shall  be  adequately  lighted  at  all  times,  and  shall 
be  ventilated  by  means  of  windows  or  skylights  or  air  shafts  or 
air  ducts  or  mechanical  apparatus,  if  necessary,  so  as  to  insure  a 
free  circulation  of  fresh  air  at  all  times.  Such  ventilating  con- 
truction  and  equipment  shall  be  of  such  character  that  a  com- 
plete change  of  air  in  all  parts  of  the  bakery  may  be  made  at 
least  four  times  each  hour.  Provided,  however,  that  it  sha'll  not 
be  necessary  to  ventilate  at  such  time  or  in  such  manner  that 
the  process  of  mixing  or  rising  of  dough  shall  of  necessity  be 
interfered  with  or  prevented. 

SEC.  8.  The  floor  of  every  place  used  as  a  bakery,  if  below  the 
street  level,  shall  be  constructed  of  concrete,  cement,  asphalt  or 
other  impervious  material,  or  of  tile  laid  in  cement,  which  floor  may, 
if  desired,  be  covered  with  a  hardwood  floor  having  tight  joints; 
if  above  the  street  level  the  floor  may  be  of  hardwood  with  tight 
joints  or  may  be  of  any  impervious  material,  as  above  provided. 
The  angles  where  the  floor  and  walls  join  shall  be  made  and  main- 
tained so  as  to  be  rat-proof. 

SEC.  9.  Every  bakery  shall  be  kept  reasonably  free  from  flies, 
and  the  doors,  windows,  and  other  openings  of  every  such  bakery 
shall,  from  April  1  to  December  1,  be  fitted  with  self-closing  wire 
screens  doors  and  wire  window  screens.  The  side  walls  and  ceil- 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  245 

ings  shall  be  well  and  smoothly  plastered,  tiled  or  sheathed  with 
metal  or  wood  sheathing,  and  shall  be  kept  in  good  repair.  If 
made  of  mill  construction  with  smooth  surfaces  such  walls  and' 
ceilings  need  not  be  sheathed  or  plastered. 

All  walls  and  ceilings  shall  be  kept  well  painted  with  oil  paint, 
or  lime  washed  or  calcimined,  and  all  woodwork  shall  be  kept 
well  painted  with  oil  paint. 

SEC.  10.  Every  such  bakery  shall  be  provided  with  adequate 
plumbing  and  drainage  facilities,  including  well  ventilated  water 
closets  and  impermeable  wash  sinks  on  iron  supports.  No  wator 
closet  compartment  shall  be  in  direct  communication  with  a  bakery. 

SEC.  11.  No  person  shall  sleep  in  any  bakery  or  in  the  rooms 
where  flour  or  meal  used  in  conection  therewith,  or  the  food  pro- 
ducts made  therein,  are  handled  or  stored.  If  any  sleeping  places 
are  located  on  the  same  floor  as  the  bakery,  they  Shall  be  well 
ventilated,  dry  and  sanitary.  No  domestic  animals  except  cats 
shall  be  permitted  in  a  bakery  or  place  where  flour  or  meal  ia 
stored  in  connection  therewith,  and  suitable  provision  shall  be 
made  to  prevent  nuisances  from  the  presence  of  cats. 

SEC.  12.  All  workmen  and  employees  while  engaged  in  the 
manufacture  or  handling  of  bakery  products  in  a  bakery  shall  pro- 
vide themselves  with  slippers  or  shoes  and  a  suit  of  washable 
material  which  shall  be  used  for  that  purpose  only.  These  gar- 
ments shall  at  all  times  be  kept  clean. 

SEC.  13.  Cuspidors  of  impervious  material  shall  be  provided 
and  shall  be  cleansed  daily.  No  employe  or  other  person  shall 
spit  on  the  floor  or  side  walls  of  any  bakery  or  place  where  food 
products  of  such  bakery  are  stored. 

SEC.  14.  The  smoking,  snuffing  or  chewing  of  tobacco  in  any 
bakery  is  prohibited.  Plain  notices  shall  be  posted  in  every  bakery 
forbidding  any  person  to  use  tobacco  therein  or  to  spit  on  the  floor 
of  such  bakery. 

SEC.  15.  No  person  who  has  consumption,  scrofula  or  venereal 
diseases  or  any  communicable  or  loathsome  skin  disease  shall  work 


246  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

in  any  bakery,  and  no  owner,  manager  or  person  in  charge  of  any 
bakery  shall  knowingly  require,  permit  or  suffer  such  a  person 
to  be  employed  in  such  bakery. 

SEC.  16.  All  rooms  for  the  storage  of  flour  or  meal  for  use 
in  connection  with  any  bakery  shatt  be  dry  and  well  ventilated, 
and  every  bakery  and  room  used  for  the  storage  of  materials  and 
food  products  in  connection  therewith  shall  be  so  arranged  that 
the  shelves,  cupboards,  trays,  troughs,  bins,  cases  and  all  other 
appliances  for  handling  and  storing-  the  same  can  be  easily  removed 
and  cleaned.  If  the  floor  of  any  such  bakery  or  room  is  below 
the  adjacent  street  level,  no  such  materials  or  products  shall  be 
stored  nearer  to  such  floor  than  one  foot. 

SEC  17.  Every  bakery  shall  be  kept  clean  at  all  times  and 
free  from  rats,  mice  and  vermin  and  from  all  matter  of  an  infec- 
tious or  contagious  nature. 

SEC.  18.  No  new  bakery  shall  be  established  after  the  passage 
of  this  ordinance  in  any  room,  basement  or  cellar  in  which  the 
clear  height  between  the  finished  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than 
8  feet  6  inches  or  in  any  room  or  place  the  floor  of  which  is  more 
than  5  feet  below  the  street,  sidewalk  or  alley  level  adjacent  to  the 
building,  or  in  any  room  or  place  which  is  not  so  naturally  lighted 
by  means  of  windows,  doors  or  skylights  that  on  clear  days  a  book 
or  paper  printed  with  double  long  primer  type  can  be  read  be- 
tween the  hours  of  10  a.  m.  and  2  p.  m.  in  all  parts  of  the  bakery 
which  are  used  in  mixing  or  handling  bakery  products. 

If  any  new  bakery  hereafter  established  has  its  floor  above,  at, 
or  not  more  than  3  feet  below  the  adjacent  street  or  alley  level, 
no  window  opening  by  which  it  is  ventilated  shall  be  less  than 
3  feet  above  such  street  or  alley  level;  if  the  floor  of  any  such 
bakery  is  more  than  3  feet  below  the  adjacent  street  or  alley  level, 
no  such  window  opening  shall  be  less  than  18  inches  above  such 
street  or  alley  level. 

In  new  bakeries  hereafter  established,  no  water  closet  compart- 
ment shall  be  connected  with  the  bakery  by  a  vestibule  connection. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  247 

SEC.  19.  If  any  bakery  which  is  now  being  maintained  an-1 
operated  shall  be  vacated,  discontinued  or  unused  for  a  period  of 
more  than  six  consecutive  months  and  shall  thereafter  be  reopened 
and  re-established  as  a  bakery,  such  bakery  shall  be  considered  a 
new  bakery  for  purposes  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC  20.  The  Commissioner  of  Health  and  the  authorized  in- 
spectors and  employees  of  the  Department  of  Health  shall  have 
the  right  at  all  times  to  enter  to  make  such  inspection  and  such 
record  of  the  condition  of  any  bakery  as  they  may  deem  necessary, 
and  if  such  inspection  shall  disclose  a  lack  of  conformity  with  this 
ordinance,  the  Commissioner  of  Health  may  require  such  changes, 
alterations  or  renovations  as  may  be  necessary  to  make  such  bakery 
comply  with  the  provisions  of  this  ordinance. 

SEC.  21.  Any  person,  firm  or  corporation  who  shall  establish, 
maintain  or  operate  any  bakery  after  this  ordinance  shall  take 
effect,  without  first  procuring  a  license  so  to  do,  shall  be  fined  not 
I*  98  than  twenty-five  ($25.00)  dollars  nor  more  than  two  hundred 
($200.00)  dollars  for  each  offense,  and  a  separate  offense  shall  be 
regarded  as  committed  each  day  on  which  such  person,  firm  or 
corporation  shall  maintain  or  operate  any  bakery  without  a  license 
as  aforesaid. 

Any  person,  firm  or  corporation  who  violates  or  fails  to  comply 
with  any  other  provision  of  this  ordinance  shall  be  fined  not  less 
than  five  ($5.00)  dollars  nor  more  than  one  hundred  ($100.00) 
dollars  for  each  offense,  and  a  separate  offense  shall  be  regarded 
as  committed  each  day  on  which  such  person,  firm  or  corporation 
shall  continue  any  such  violation  or  failure. 

SEC.  22.  An  ordinance  entitled  "  Bakery  Ordinance  of  the 
city  of  Chicago,"  passed  by  the  City  Council  on  the  llth  day  of 
November,  A.  D.  1907,  as  amended  June  22,  A.  D.,  1908,  is 
hereby  repealed. 

SEC.  23.  This  ordinance  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its 
passage  and  due  publication. 

Passed  February  28,  1910. 


248  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 


STATE  OF  EHODE  ISLAND  AND  PKOVIDENCE 
PLANTATIONS 

JANUAKY  SESSION,  A.  D.  1910 

AN  ACT  IN  AMENDMENT  OF  AND  IN  ADDITION  TO  CHAPTER  78 
OF  THE  GENERAL  LAWS,  1909,  ENTITLED  "  OF  FACTORY  IN- 
SPECTION." 

It  is  enacted  by  the  General  Assembly  as  follows: 

SECTION  1.  Section  3  of  Chapter  78  of  the  General  Laws  1909, 
entitled  "  Of  Factory  Inspection,"  is  hereby  amended  so  as  to 
read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  3.  The  governor  shall,  upon  the  passage  of  this  act, 
and  in  the  month  of  January  of  every  third  year  hereafter,  ap- 
point, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  one  chief  and 
three  assistant  factory  inspectors,  one  of  whom  shall  be  a  woman, 
whose  term  of  office  shall  be  three  years  or  until  their  successors 
shall  be  so  appointed  and  qualified:  Provided,  that  the  term  of 
office  of  the  present  factory  inspectors  shall  not  be  changed,  and 
that  the  term  of  office  of  the  additional  factory  inspector  provided 
in  this  act  shall  expire  in  January,  A.  D.  nineteen  hundred  and 
eleven,  or  upon  the  appointment  and  qualification  of  his  successor. 
Any  vacancy  which  may  occur  in  said  offices  when  the  senate  is 
not  in  session  shall  be  filled  by  the  governor  until  the  next  session 
thereof,  when  he  shall,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate, 
appoint  some  person  to  fill  such  vacancy  for  the  remainder  of  the 
term.  Said  inspectors  shall  be  empowered  to  visit  and  inspect, 
at  all  reasonable  hours  and  as  often  as  practicable,  the  factories, 
work-shops,  and  other  establishments  in  this  state  subject  to  the 
provisions  of  this  chapter,  and  shall  report  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly of  this  state  at  its  January  session  in  each  year,  including  in 
said  reports  the  name  of  the  factories,  the  number  of  such  hands 
employed,  and  the  number  of  hours  of  work  performed  in  each 
week.  It  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  said  inspectors  to  enforce  the 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  249 

provisions  of  this  chapter  and  prosecute  all  violations  of  the  same 
before  any  court  of  competent  jurisdiction  in  the  state. 

"  The  name  and  residence  of  any  child  found  working  without 
the  certificate  provided  for  in  section  one  of  this  chapter  shall  be 
reported  by  the  chief  inspector  to  the  school  committee  in  the  city 
or  town  where  such  child  resides.  Said  inspectors  shall  devote 
their  whole  time  and  attention  to  the  duties  of  their  respective  of- 
fices, under  the  direction  of  the  chief  inspector.  The  annual  sal- 
ary of  the  chief  inspector  shall  be  two  thousand  dollars ;  and  each 
of  the  assistant  inspectors,  fifteen  hundred  dollars." 

SEC.  2.  Section  4  of  said  Chapter  78  of  the  General  Laws  is 
hereby  amended  so  as  to  read  as  follows: 

"  SEC.  4.  All  necessary  expenses  incurred  by  such  inspectors 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duty  shall  be  paid  from  the  funds  of  the 
state,  upon  the  presentation  of  proper  vouchers  for  the  same  ap- 
proved by  the  governor:  Provided,  tiiat  not  more  than  twenty- 
three  hundred  dollars  in  the  aggregate  shall  be  expended  by  the 
said  inspectors  in  any  one  year." 

SEC.  3.  Said  Chapter  78  of  the  General  Laws  is  hereby 
amended  by  adding  the  following  sections : 

"  SEC.  18.  Said  chief  inspector,  or  any  assistant  factory  in- 
spector required  by  him,  shall  have  charge  of  the  inspection  of 
bakeries,  confectioneries,  and  ice  cream  manufactories,  and  any 
premises  upon  which  bread  or  other  products  of  flour  or  meal  are 
baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  in  this 
state;  and  any  such  inspector  so  acting,  whether  one  or  more  of 
such  inspectors,  or  whether  acting  at  the  same  or  different  tunes, 
shall  for  such  purposes  be  designated  as  a  state  inspector  of  bak- 
eries, confectioneries,  and  ice  cream  manufactories.  Such  ins- 
spector  shall  not  be  pecuniarily  interested,  directly  or  indirectly, 
in  the  manufacture  or  sale  of  any  article  or  commodity  used  in 
any  business  included  in  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  shall  not 
give  certificates  or  written  opinions  to  a  maker  or  vendor  of  any 
such  article  or  commodity. 


250  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

"  SEC.  19.  No  person,  copartnership,  or  corporation  shall 
carry  on  the  business  of  a  public  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice 
cream  manufactory,  or  place  where  bread  or  other  products  of 
flour  or  meal  are  baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for 
sale  as  food,  until  such  premises  are  inspected  by  said  state  in- 
spector. If  such  premises  be  found  to  conform  to  the  provisions 
of  this  act,  said  inspector  shall  issue  a  certificate  to  the  owner  or 
operator  of  such  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice  cream  manufactory, 
or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or  mixed 
or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food.  Every  person,  co- 
partnership, or  corporation  carrying  on  such  business  shall,  upon 
the  granting  of  such  license,  and  annually  on  the  first  day  of  Jan- 
uary thereafter,  pay  to  the  general  treasurer  a  license  fee  of  ten 
dollars  if  conducting  such  a  wholesale  business,  and  a  license  fee 
of  three  dollars  if  conducting  only  such  a  retail  business. 

"  SEC.  20.  All  buildings  or  rooms  used  or  occupied  as  biscuit, 
bread,  macaroni,  spaghetti,  pie  or  cake  bakeries,  ice  cream  or  con- 
fectionery manufactories,  or  where  flour  or  meal  food  products 
are  baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  shall 
be  drained  and  plumbed  in  a  manner  conducive  to  the  proper  and 
healthful  sanitary  condition  thereof,  and  shall  be  constructed  with 
air  shafts,  windows,  or  ventilating  pipes  sufficient  to  insure  ade- 
quate and  proper  ventilation.  No  cellar,  basement,  or  place  which 
is  below  the  street  level  shall  hereafter  be  used  or  occupied  for  the 
purposes  mentioned  in  this  section:  Provided,  that  the  same  may 
be  so  used  or  occupied  by  the  present  occupant  only. 

"  SEC.  21.  Every  room  used  for  the  purposes  included  in  this 
act  shall  have,  if  deemed  necessary  by  such  inspector,  an  imperme- 
able floor  constructed  of  cement,  or  of  tiles  laid  in  cement,  or  of 
wood  or  other  suitable  non-absorbent  material  which  can  be  flushed 
and  washed  clean  with  water.  The  side  walls  and  ceilings  of  such 
rooms  shall  be  plastered  or  wainscoted ;  such  inspector  shall  re- 
quire said  premises  to  be  kept  at  all  times  in  a  sanitary  condi- 
tion; he  may  also  require  the  woodwork  of  such  walls  to  be  well 
oiled,  varnished,  or  painted.  The  furniture  and  utensils  shall  be 
so  arranged  as  to  be  readily  cleansed  and  not  prevent  the  proper 
cleaning  of  any  part  of  the  room. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  251 

"  The  manufactured  flour  or  meal  food  products  shall  be  kept  in 
dry  and  airy  rooms,  so  arranged  that  the  floors,  shelves,  and  all 
other  facilities  for  storing  the  same  can  be  properly  cleaned. 

"  Xo  domestic  animals  except  cats  shall  be  allowed  to  remain 
in  a  room  used  as  a  biscuit,  bread,  pie,  or  cake  bakery  or  any  room 
in  such  bakery  where  flour  or  meal  products  are  stored  or  kept. 

"  SEC.  22.  Every  such  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice  cream  manu- 
factory, or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or 
mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  shall  be  pro- 
vided with  a  proper  wash-room  and  water-closet,  or  water-closets, 
apart  from  the  bake-rooms  or  rooms  where  the  manufacture  of 
such  food  products  is  conducted,  and  they  shall  be  maintained  in 
a  sanitary  condition ;  no  water-closet,  earth-closet,  privy,  or  recep- 
tacle for  garbage  shall  be  within  or  connect  directly  with  the  bake- 
room  of  any  bakery  or  room  where  ice  cream  or  confectionery  is 
manufactured.  Operatives,  employees,  clerks,  and  all  persons 
who  handle  the  material  from  which  food  is  prepared,  or  the  fin- 
ished product,  before  beginning  work,  or  after  visiting  toilet  or 
toilets,  shall  wash  their  hands  and  arms  thoroughly  in  clean  water. 

"  No  person  shall  sleep  in  a  room  occupied  as  a  bake-room. 
Sleeping  places  for  the  persons  employed  in  the  bakery  shall  be 
separate  from  the  rooms  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are 
manufactured  or  stored.  If  the  sleeping  places  are  on  the  same 
floor  where  such  products  are  manufactured,  stored,  or  sold,  such 
inspector  may  inspect  and  order  them  put  in  a  proper  sanitary 
condition. 

"  SEC.  23.  No  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice  cream  manufac- 
tory, or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or 
mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  shall  be  con- 
ducted in  a  room  adjoining  a  stable,  unless  separated  from  such 
stable  by  a  wall  or  partition  without  any  door  or  other  opening 
between  such  stable  and  such  bakery,  confectionery,  or  manufac- 
tory, or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or 
mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food ;  and  no  material 
used  therein  shall  be  kept  in  a  stable. 


252  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

"  SEC.  24.  Packages  or  receptacles  containing  butter,  lard, 
cooking  oils,  molasses,  sugar,  spices,  dried  fruits,  tartars,  and  sim- 
ilar articles,  in  such  bakery,  confectionery,  or  manufactory,  or 
place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or  mixed  or 
prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  must  be  kept  covered 
when  not  necessarily  uncovered  for  use. 

"  SEC.  25.  Smoking,  snuffing,  or  chewing  of  tobacco,  or  spit- 
ting on  floor  in  working  rooms  in  such  bakery,  confectionery,  or 
manufactory,  or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked 
or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  is  strictly 
forbidden. 

"  SEC.  26.  No  employer  in  any  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice 
cream  manufactory,  or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products 
are  baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food, 
shall  require,  permit,  or  suffer  any 'person  to  work,  nor  shall  any 
person  work,  in  a  building,  room,  basement,  cellar,  or  vehicle  oc- 
cupied or  used  for  the  production,  preparation,  manufacture, 
packing,  storage,  sale,  distribution,  and  transportation  of  food, 
who  is  affected  with  any  venereal  disease,  smallpox,  diphtheria, 
scarlet  fever,  yellow  fever,  tuberculosis  or  consumption,  bubonic 
plague,  Asiatic  cholera,  leprosy,  trachoma,  typhoid  fever,  epidemic 
dysentery,  measles,  mumps,  German  measles,  whooping-cough, 
chicken  pox,  or  any  other  infectious  or  contagious  disease. 

"  SEC.  27.  Bread  or  pastry  must  not  be  laid  on  the  floor  in 
such  bakery,  confectionery,  or  manufactory,  or  place  where  flour 
or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking 
or  for  sale  as  food.  No  label  shall  be  stuck  on  bread  or  other 
bakery  goods  by  means  of  gum,  saliva,  or  any  material  other  than 
the  article  baked.  No  baker  shall  use  or  cause  to  be  used  news- 
papers or  other  second-hand  paper  for  the  purpose  of  lining  tins 
or  wrapping  up  bread  or  other  bakery  goods.  All  bakers'  wagons 
must  be  kept  clean,  both  inside  and  out,  and  so  arranged  that  no 
dust  can  blow  on  bread  or  pastry  while  in  transit. 

"  SEC.  28.  Bakeries,  confectioneries,  and  ice  cream  manufac- 
tories, or  places  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or 


BAKEBIES  AND  BAKERS.  253 

mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  shall  be  kept  at 
all  times  in  a  clean  and  sanitary  condition,  and  shall  be  inspected 
by  said  inspector  at  least  twice  each  year.  If  on  inspection  said 
inspector  finds  any  bakery,  confectionery,  or  ice  cream  manufac- 
tory, or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food  products  are  baked  or 
mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale  as  food,  to  be  so  unclean, 
ill-drained,  or  ill-ventilated  as  to  be  unsanitary,  he  may,  after 
such  reasonable  time,  to  be  fixed  by  said  inspector,  not  less  than 
five  days,  by  notice  in  writing,  to  be  served  by  affixing  the  notice 
on  the  inside  of  the  main  entrance  door  of  said  bakery,  confection- 
ery, or  ice  cream  manufactory,  or  place  where  flour  or  meal  food 
products  are  baked  or  mixed  or  prepared  for  baking  or  for  sale 
as  food,  order  the  person  found  in  charge  thereof  immediately  to 
cease  operating  it  until  it  be  properly  cleaned  drained,  or 
ventilated. 

"  SEC.  29.  Any  person  who  is  aggrieved  by  any  order  or  re- 
quirement of  ?aid  state  inspector  may  appeal  therefrom  in  the  same 
manner  in  all  respects,  and  with  the  same  rights  and  liabilities,  as 
provided  in  section  10  of  said  Chapter  78  of  the  General  Laws. 

"  SEC.  30.  Any  person  who  violates  any  of  the  provisions  of 
said  sections  nineteen  to  twenty-eight,  both  inclusive,  of  said 
Chapter  78  of  the  General  Laws,  as  herein  amended,  or  refuses 
to  comply  with  any  lawful  requirement  of  the  authority  vested 
with  the  enforcement  of  such  sections,  .as  provided  therein,  shall 
be  guilty  of  a  misdemeanor,  and  on  conviction  shall  be  punished 
by  a  fine  of  not  less  than  twenty  or  more  than  fifty  dollars  for 
a  first  offense,  and  for  a  second  offense  by  a  fine  of  not  less  than 
fifty  or  more  than  one  hundred  dollars  or  by  imprisonment  for 
not  more  than  ten  days,  and  for  a  third  offense  by  a  fine  of  not 
less  than  one  hundred  or  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  or  by  imprisonment  for  not  more  than  thirty  days,  or  by 
both  such  fine  and  imprisonment. 

"  SEC.  31.  Such  inspector  shall  be  empowered  to  visit  and 
inspect  all  parts  of  stores,,  bakeries,  confectioneries,  and  store-rooms 
and  places  where  ice  cream,  flour  and  meal  food  products  are 


254  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

manufactured,  at  any  and  all  reasonable  times.  Such  inspector 
shall  promptly  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  act,  and  shall  prose- 
cute all  violations  of  the  same  before  any  court  of  competent  juris- 
diction in  the  state.  The  attorney-general  shall  act  as  his  legal 
adviser  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  his  official  duties.  He  shall 
cause  copies  of  this  act  to  be  printed  and  kept  posted  in  all  bak- 
ries,  confectioneries,  and  manufactories  of  ice  cream,  flour  and 
meal  food  products,  and  all  places  where  such  business  is  carried 
on.  Any  mutilation  of  such  printed  matter  shall  be  punished  as 
provided  in  the  preceding  section.  Such  inspector  shall  not  be 
required  to  give  surety,  nor  furnish  recognizance  for  costs,  in  any 
prosecution  or  proceeding  under  this  act." 

SEC.  4.  This  act  shall  take  effect  upon  its  passage:  Provided, 
that  any  business  included  in  the  provisions  of  this  act  and  now 
carried  on  may  be  carried  on  without  the  license  required  by  the 
provisions  of  this  act  until  August  first,  A.  D.  nineteen  hundred 
and  ten,  and,  in  case  application  for  such  license  be  made  prior  to 
June  first,  A.  D.  nineteen  hundred  and  ten  and  be  not  acted  upon 
by  such  inspector  prior  to  August  first,  A.  D.  nineteen  hundred 
and  ten,  such  business  may  be  carried  on  without  such  license 
until  said  application  is  acted  upon  by  such  inspector. 


INDUSTRIAL  COMMISSION  OF  WISCONSIN 
(Successor  to  Bureau  of  Labor  and  Industrial  Statistics.) 

RULES     RELATIVE     TO     BAKERIES     AND     CONFEC 

TIONERIES. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  tentative  rules  for  the  regulation 
of  bakeries.  These  rules  are  proposed  for  adoption  by  the  Indus- 
trial Commission.  They  may  be  modified  by  the  Commission  when- 
ever, in  its  judgment,  general  or  special  conditions  make  such 
action  desirable  in  order  to  attain  the  sanitary  standard  sought 
to  be  established  by  their  adoption. 

In  submitting  these  rules  to  the  bakers  and  confectioners  of 
the  state,  the  Industrial  Commission  invites  criticisms  and  sug- 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  255 

gestions.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Wisconsin  Association  of  Master 
Bakers  in  Milwaukee  Oct.  11,  1911,  it  is  proposed  to  review  this 
compilation  and  to  make  such  changes  as  are  considered  desirable. 
All  rules  or  regulations  adopted  formally  by  the  Industrial 
Commission  have  the  full  force  of  law,  and  violations  are  subject 
to  the  penalty  provided. 


DRAINAGE  AND  PLUMBING. 

1.  If  there  is  a  public  drain  in  the  village  or  city  extending 
along  any  street  or  alley  in  which  a  bakery  is  located,  the  bakery 
must  be  connected  with  such  drain. 

2.  If  there  is  no  public  sewer  or  drain,  then  a  drain  must  be 
provided  to  a  cesspool  or  other  receptacle,  located  at  least  thirty 
feet  away  from  the  bakery;  provided  that  if  siida  drain  empties 
into  a  running  stream  or  lake,  the  limitation  as  to  distance  shall 
not  apply. 

3.  All  plumbing  must  meet  the  legal  requirements  of  the  city 
or  village   where   the  bakery   is  located;   but   in   all  cases   water 
fixtures  shall  be  back-vented  or  equipped  with  anti-syphon  trap. 

4.  Waste   water  shall  not  be  drained  directly  on   the  ground 
below  the  floor  nor  on  the  surface  of  the  ground  adjacent  to  the 
bakery. 

5.  If  there  is  any  public  or  other  sewer  running  through  any 
bakery,  the  same  shall  be  so  securely  and  completely  bedded  as 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  water,  sewage,  or  gas,  and  must  be  sub- 
ject to  a  test  of  at  least  two  feet  of  water  head  or  twenty-five 
pounds  of  air  pressure. 

6.  No  drain  is  permitted   nearer  than  eighteen   inches  to  any 
water  service  pipe. 

WATER  SUPPLY. 

7.  No  water  from  a  fixture  located  in  any  water  closet  shall 
be  used  for  baking  purposes. 


266  BAKERIES  AND  BAXERS. 

8.  Only  clean,  pure  water  shall  be  used,  a  sufficient  supply  of 
which  shall  be  available  at  all  times. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  ROOMS. 

9.  Side  walls  must  be  free  from  holes,  ragged  edges,  cracks  or 
crevices,  and  all  joints  must  be  tight  and  flush. 

10.  Floors  must  be  level  and  smooth,  and  free  from  cracks  or 
openings.     All  new  wooden  floors  must  be  made  of  hard  wood 
and  treated  with  oil  varnish. 

11.  Ceilings  may  be  plastered  or  ceiled  with  metal  or  wood. 
In  case  ceilings  are   open  [joists,    the  exposed   surfaces  shall   be 
planed;  in  concrete  construction,  the  ceiling  shall  be  smooth  and 
shall  be  painted  or  whitewashed. 

CARE  OF  ROOMS. 

12.  All  plastered  surfaces  may  be  whitewashed.     Others  should 
be  painted.      Whitewash  must   be  renewed  at  least  once  in  six 
months;  paint  at  least  once  in  two  years. 

13.  All   floors   in    work   and   bakerooms   must    be    swept  clean 
every  day  and  any  adhering  materials  scraped  off;  sweepings  must 
be    deposited    in    an    impermeable    receptacle    and    removed    or 
destroyed   within    twenty-four   hours.      All    such   floors   must   be 
scrubbed  with  soap  and  water  at  least  once  a  week. 

14.  Floors  and  side  walls  in   storage  rooms  must  be  cleaned 
whenever  they  become  empty,  before  new  stock  is  put  in. 

15.  No  cleanings,  waste  nor  offal  shall  be  deposited  upon  the 
floor  of  any  bakery,  but  should  be  placed  in  proper  receptacle 
which  must  be  provided  for  that  purpose. 

16.  If  it  is  necessary  to  remove  live  coal  or  ashes  out  of  ovens, 
the  same  shall  be  placed  at  once  in  iron  receptacles  and  tightly 
covered.     This  work  shall  always  be  done  in  such  manner  that  no 
ashes  or  gases  shall  escape  into  bakery. 

17.  Windows  and  window  ledges  must  be  washed  and  wiped 
whenever  they  become  dirty. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  257 

17  b.  Xo  domestic  animals  shall  be  allowed  in  any  room. 

18.  All  inside  painted  surfaces  in  bakeries  must  be  scrubbed 
with  soap  and  water  at  least  once  in  six  months. 

CONSTRUCTION  OF  UTENSILS. 

19.  Bread  boxes  and  roll  and  bread  boards  shall  be  made  of 
sound  lumber,  planed  on  all  sides,  smoothly  joined,  and  free  from 
cracks  and  crevices. 

20.  All  work  tables  shall  be  made  of  sound,  well-seasoned  lum- 
ber,   smoothly    joined    and    free    from    indentations,    cracks    and 
crevices.     Stone  or  metal-work  tables  may  be  used  if  desired. 

21.  All  dough-troughs  and  pan  or  bread-racks  must  be  mounted 
on  casters  or  rollers  so  that  same  may  be  easily  moved. 

CARE  OF  UTENSILS. 

22.  Doughnut  kettles  must  be  kept  covered  when  not  in  use. 

23.  Only  clean,  pure  water  shall  be  used,  a  sufficient  supply 
of  which  shall  be  available  at  all  times. 

24.  Dough-mixing  machines  must  be   cleaned  daily   and   the 
inside  thereof  greased.     All  flour  should  be  brushed  off  carefully. 
Bearings  and  grease  cups  should  be  wiped,  stuffing  boxes  well 
packed  so  as  to  prevent  leakage,  and  machine  should  be  kept 
screened  or  covered  when  not  in  use  in  such  a  way  as  to  permit 
circulation  of  air  therein. 

25.  Metal  dough-troughs  must  be  well  cleaned  every  time  they 
are  used  and  the  inside  thereof  greased. 

26.  Wooden  dough-troughs  must  be  scraped  clean  every  time  they 
are  used.    They  must  be  washed  with  soap  and  water  at  least  once 
a  month  and  aired  frequently. 

27.  Trough  covers  must  be   scraped  on   both  sides   daily  and 
washed  with  soap  and  water  at  least  once  a  week. 

28.  Wooden   dough-troughs  must  be  made   of  sound   lumber, 
well  joined  and  smoothly  finished.     Troughs  and  covers  must  be 
free  from  holes,  cracks  and  crevices. 

9 


258  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

29.  Bread  boxes  and  roll  and  bread  boards  shall  be  brushed 
every  time  they  have  been  used  and  scrubbed  with  soap  and  water 
at  least  once  a  month. 

30.  All  work  tables  must  be  cleaned  daily  and  scrubbed  at  least 
once  a  week. 

31.  All  dbugh-dividing  machines,   beating,   mixing   or   deposit- 
ing machines,  brakes,  rollers,  cracker  and  cake  machines,  crumb- 
ing and  grinding  machines,  must  be  cleaned  daily  when  in  use, 
and;  no  dust,  sugar,  grease,  dough  or  paste  shall  be  permitted  to 
accumulate  in  or  about  such  machines. 

32.  Conveyers,  driers  and  wires  for  icing  machines  must  bs 
kept  clean,  and  can  be  operated  only  in  a  room  that  is  free  from 
dust. 

33.  Pie-making  machines  must  be  cleaned  daily  and  all  flour, 
fruit,  filling  and  paste  removed  therefrom, 

34.  Cake-filling  machines  must  be  emptied  and  cleaned  after 
each  day's  work. 

35.  All  flour  sieves  and  sifting  machines  shall  be  cleaned  at  least 
once  a  week.     No  moths  or  other  insects  shall  be  permitted  to 
breed  therein. 

36.  All  flour  bins,  hoppers,  chutes  and  conveyers  shall  be  exam- 
ined at  least  once  a  week  and  must  be  kept  free  from  larvae, 
chrysalides  and  insects. 

37.  Iron  pans  must  be  cleaned  each  time  they  are  used,  and 
wiped  with  fat. 

38.  All  racks  and  shelves  must  be  cleaned  once  a  month  and 
scrubbed  every  six  months. 

39.  Tin  pans  should  be  cleaned  each  time  they  are  used  and 
wiped  with  fat.  Any  adhering  material,  grease,  flour  or  sugar  that 
cannot  be  removed  by  wiping,  must  be  washed  off. 

40.  Cloths  used  for  lining  bread  boxes,  covering  roll  boards  or 
cake  pans,  or  for  the  purpose  of  covering  dough  or  baked  goods, 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  259 

shall  be  used  for  no  other  purpose,  and  shall  be  washed  at  least  once 
in  two  weeks. 

41.  Bake  ovens  must  be  well  cleaned  so  no  soot,  ashes,  or  coal 
will  adhere  to  baked  goods. 

42.  Swab  pails  must  be  cleaned  daily  and  fresh  water  must  be 
used  every  time  an  oven  is  cleaned. 

43.  Steam  or  proofing  boxes  must  be  cleaned  at  least  once  a 
month   and  scrubbed  at  least  once  in  six  months. 

44.  The  holding  of  bakery  utensils  in  the  mouth  is  prohibited. 

45.  All  dishes,  measures,  strainers,  dippers,  cans,  mugs,  tubes, 
kettles,   ornamenting  and  pastry  bags,   stamps,   syringes,   dough- 
nut  machines,    bowls,    spoons,    scoops,   mortar   knives,    scrapers, 
paddles,  rolling  pins,  chopping,  cutting,  slicing  or  grating  machines, 
egg  whips  and  brushes,  shall  be  washed  with  soap  and  water  or 
some  material  equally  efficient,  and  wiped  dry  with  a  clean  cloth 
every  day  such  utensils  have  been  used. 

46.  All  ice  boxes  and  all  places  where  food  may  be  placed  for 
cooling  purposes,  shall  be  kept  clean  and  well  ventilated. 

47.  All  baskets,  boxes  and  other  containers  that  are  used  for 
carting,  storing  or  delivering  bakery  goods,  shall  be  cleaned  daily 
and  scrubbed  once  a  month. 

48.  All  wagons  used  for  the  delivery  of  baked  goods  shall  be 
cleaned  every  day  before  loading  and  shall  be  scrubbed  once  a 
week. 

49.  All  show  cases,  shelves,  boxes  and  cans  in  which  bakery 
goods  are  kept,  must  be  washed  at  least  once  a  week.     Crackers, 
cakes  and  similar  goods  need  not  be  removed  out  of  original  pack- 
age or  box  for  the  purpose  of  cleaning  such  boxes  or  packages. 

50.  ~No  tool  or  utensil  used  in  bakery  shall  be  used  for  any  other 
purpose. 

CARE  OF  RAW  MATERIAL. 

51.  All  flour,  starch,  meal,  sugar,  salt,  corn  or  rice  flakes,  nuts, 
and  nut  meats,  dried  fruit  and  other  material  contained  in  bags, 


260  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

must  be  stored  on  platforms  or  shelves  at  least  eight  inches  from 
the  floor  and  at  least  2  inches  from  any  side  wall  and  be  so 
stored  that  there  is  a  free  circulation  of  air  on  all  sides. 

52.  All  barrels  or  kegs  containing  oil,  molasses,  syrup  or  any 
other  fluid  food  product,  shall  be  tapped  whenever  feasible  with 
a  pump  or  faucet;  whenever  such  tapping  is  not  feasible,  heads 
may  be  removed  and  good  metal  covers  provided  with  rims  extend- 
ing downward  over  ends  of  barrels  or  kegs. 

53.  All  barrels  that  contain  lard,  sugar,  starch,  cocoanut,  mince 
meat,  salt  or  other  dry  food  product,  shall,  when  the  same  are 
opened,  be  provided  with  metal  covers  that  extend  downward  over 
top  edge  of  barrels. 

54.  Metal  covers  shall  be  provided  for  all  tubs,  pails,  drums, 
or  other  containers  of  jelly,  jam  or  similar  substances  whenever 
they  are  opened  and  not  entirely  used  at  once. 

55.  All  dried  and  desiccated  fruits  in  boxes  shall  be  kept  well 
covered  and  protected  against  dust  and  vermin. 

56.  All  prepared  fruits,  pie  fillings  and  similar  substances  shall 
be  kept  in  earthenware  or  wooden  containers   properly   covered. 
Metal  containers  may  only  be  used  when  the  same  are  enameled 
or  properly  coated  with  block  tin. 

57.  All  spices,  nutmeats,  seeds,  and  other  similar  goods  shall  be 
kept  in  suitable  containers  of  tin,  pasteboard,  or  other  material  and 
well  covered. 

58.  All  prepared  dough,   other  than  dough  containing  yeast, 
shall  be  kept  in  earthenware  or  wooden  containers  properly  cov- 
ered.   Such  containers  must  be  thoroughly  washed  every  time  they 
have  been  used. 

59.  All  crumbs,  struesel  and  other  such  goods  must  be  covered 
in  suitable  containers  so  as  to  be  protected  against  dust. 

60.  Chocolate,  nut-paste,  citron,  lemon,  and  orange  peel  must 
be  kept  in  suitable  boxes  or  cans  well  covered  and  protected  against 
dust. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  201 

61.  Acids,  alum,  baking  powder,  drugs  and  chemicals,  as  also 
all  compounds  and  preparations  that  are  to  be  mixed  and  eaten 
with  bakery  products,  shall  be  kept  in  suitable  containers,  covered 
and  clean. 

62.  Dried  egg  and  dried  milk  shall  be  stored  in  tight  barrels, 
drums  or  cans,  and  not  more  shall  be  prepared  in  water  than  will  be 
used  within  twenty-four  hours. 

63.  Goods  that  are  being  dried  for  future  use  shall  be  kept  clean 
and  free  from  dust. 

64.  Fresh  icings  shall  be  prepared  every  day,  and  at  no  time 
shall  icing  be  allowed  to  remain  on  sides  or  rims  of  vessels,  but 
all  vessels  that  contain   icing  must  be  kept  clean  and  covered 
when  not  in  actual  use. 

65.  All  flour  used  in  bakeries  shall  be  passed  through  a  close- 
meshed  sieve  shortly  before  it  is  used. 

CARE  OF  FINISHED  PRODUCT. 

66.  All  bakered  goods,   whether  in  pans  or  other  containers, 
must  be  kept  at  least  twelve  inches  from  the  floor. 

67.  Xo  person  is  allowed  to  handle  bakery  goods  in  any  store 
or  other  place  where  such  goods  may  be  exposed  for  sale,  unless 
such  person  has  actually  purchased  such  bakery  goods  or  is  in 
charge  of  the  sale  of  such  goods. 

PERSONAL  CLEANLINESS  AND  CONDUCT. 

68.  All  persons  working  in  bakeries,  who  handle  or  touch  goods 
that  are  to  be  eaten,  shall  wash  their  hands  and  arms  in  clean 
water  before  beginning  work  and  every  time  they  have  made  use 
of  water  closet,  urinal  or  privy,  and  every  time  they  change  from 
one  kind  of  work  to  another,  and  every  time  their  work  is  inter- 
rupted for  any  cause,  before  again  touching  or  handling  bakery 
products. 

69.  The  outer  garments  to  be  worn  by  bakery  workmen  while 
at  work  shall  consist  of  caps,  shoes  or  slippers,  and  overalls  or 


262  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

aprons,  to  which  bibs  must  be  attached.  In  no  case  shall  bakery 
products  come  in  contact  with  shirts  or  other  garments  that  lie 
next  the  bare  skin  of  workmen. 

70.  External  garments  described  in  rule  No.  69  must  be  washed 
at  least  once  a  week  and  under  garments  must  also  be  kept  clean. 

71.  The  outer  garments  of  female  employees  shall  consist  of 
shoes  or  slippers  and  large  aprons  with  bibs;  hair  must  be  com- 
pactly and  neatly  done  up  in  caps  or  nets.     Aprons  and  bibs  must 
be  washed  at  least  once  a  week. 

72.  All  persons  working  in  bakeries  must  keep   their  finger- 
nails clean. 

73.  No  person  afflected  with  any  skin  disease  or  with  any  com- 
municable disease  shall  work  in  any  bakery. 

74.  No  person  delivering  bakery  goods  shall  handle  the  same 
with  dirty  hands,  or  piled  against  his  body  or  clothes,  but  all  deliv- 
eries   must   be   made   in   clean   baskets,   boxes,    trays,    or    other 
containers. 

75.  No  person  shall  spit  or  expectorate  or  deposit  any  sputum, 
mucus,  tobacco  juice,  cigar  or  cigarette  stumps  or  quids  of  to- 
bacco on  the  floor,  walls  or  furnishings  of  any  bakery. 

76.  No  person  shall  smoke  or  snuff  tobacco  while  at  work  in 
any  bakery. 

WATER  CLOSETS  AND  PRIVIES. 

77.  No  pan,  hopper  or  plunger  water  closet  shall  be  put  into 
any  bakery  hereafter  established;  and  all  such  closets  now  in  use 
must  be  replaced  when  worn  out  or  filthy,  with  tank  flushed  syphon 
closets,  properly  trapped  and  ventilated. 

78.  All  water  closets  and  urinals  in  bakeries  must  be  fully  en- 
closed  and  provided  with  self  closing  doors.     All  closets   and 
urinals  shall  be  provided  with  a  window  to  the  outer  air  if  pos- 
sible; if  such  window  cannot  be  constructed,  closets  and  urinals 
must  be  connected  with  a  ventilating  flue  providing  a  continuous 
current  out  of  closet  into  the  open  air.     Bowls  and  other  fixtures 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  263 

in  sanitary  conveniences  must  be  scrubbed  and  cleaned  at  least  once 
a  week  and  care  must  be  taken  that  no  offensive  odor  emanates 
from  such  conveniences. 

79.  In  places  where  it  is  not  possible  to  have  sanitary  conve- 
niences in  bakeries  on  account  of  local  conditions,  privies  with 
vaults  may  be  maintained.    Such  privies  must  be  located  at  least 
thirty  feet  from  bakery  and  kept  clean  at  all  times.    Such  privies 
must  be  kept  screened. 

80.  Privy  vaults  must  be   treated  with  lime  or  some  equally 
good  disinfectant  once  a  week  from  April  15th  to  October  15th 
and  once  a  month  from  October  15th  to  April  15th. 

81.  Sanitary  conveniences  must  be  provided  conveniently   ac- 
cessible to  all  persons  employed  in  bakeries. 

DRESSING  ROOMS  AND  TOILET  FACILITIES. 

82.  Places  where  workmen  change  their  clothing  must  be  light 
and  partitioned  off  by  a  wall  or  other  substantial  partition  at  least 
six  feet  high,  and  must  be  warmed  during  cold  weather. 

83.  Rubbish  must  be  removed  from  dressing  rooms  daily,  and 
the  rooms  well  cleaned  at  least  once  a  week.     They  must  be  kept 
free  from  vermin  at  all  times,  and  must  be  disinfected  at  once 
after  becoming  contaminated  or  infected. 

84.  Every  bakery  shall  be  equipped  with  running  water,  or  in 
lieu  thereof,  sufficient  wash  basins,  plenty  of  clean  water  and  good 
soap  shall  be  provided  to  enable  persons  working  therein  to  keep 
clean. 

85.  Every  person  employed  in  mixing  or  preparing  ingredients, 
and  every  person  engaged  in  handling,  moulding,  scaling,   shap- 
ing or  baking  bakery  products  shall  be  provided  with  at  least  one 
clean  towel  each  day. 

86.  Where  persons  of  both  sexes  are  employed,  separate  dress- 
ing rooms  shall  be  provided  for  each  sex. 

87.  In  bakeries  where  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  separate  sani- 
tary conveniences  for  females,  at  least  one  such  convenience  shall 
be  provided  for  every  twenty-five  females  or  fraction  thereof. 


264  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

88.  If  persons  of  both  sexes  to  the  number  of  eight  or  more 
are  employed  or  in  attendance  at  any  bakery,  separate  sanitary 
conveniences  shall  be  provided  for  each  sex. 

89.  In  bakeries  where  it  is  necessary  to  maintain  separate  sani- 
tary conveniences  for  males,  there  shall  be  one  such  convenience 
for  every  twenty-five  males;  provided  that  in  bakeries  where  the 
number  of  males  employed  or  in  attendance  exceeds  one  hundred, 
and  sufficient  urinal  accommodation  is  also  provided,  it  shall  be 
sufficient  if  there  is  one  sanitary  convenience  for  every  twenty-five 
males  up  to  the  first  hundred,  and  one  for  every  forty  after. 

SCREENS. 

90.  Window  and  door  openings  in  basement  or  on  first  floor 
must  be  screened  with  copper  wire  screens  with  meshes  sufficiently 
fine  to  filter  out  any  dust  which  may  be  carried  by  air  entering 
bakery. 

91.  All  other  doors,  windows  or  openings  in  bakeries  must  be 
screened  from  the  1st  day  of  May  to  the  1st  day  of  October  in 
each  year  to  prevent  flies  or  other  insects  entering  the  bakery. 

LIGHT. 

92.  Window  space  in  bake  or  workrooms  should  not  be  less  than 
one-fifth  of  the  floor  space  of  such  rooms. 

93.  Prism  lights  must  be  provided  whenever  necessary  in  order 
to  light  every  part  of  rooms. 

94.  No  room  can  be  used  as  bakeroom  or  workroom  in  which 
artificial  light  is  needed  all  the  time. 

VENTILATION. 

95.  Rooms  to  be  used  as  bakerooms  or  workrooms  must  be  of 
sufficient  size  to  allow  each  person  employed  therein  at  least  350 
cubic  feet  of  air  space. 

96.  Each  open  fish-tail  gas  flame  shall  be   considered   to  use 
air  equal  to  six  persons  unless  means  are  provided  to  carry  off  the 
waste  products  of  such  gas  flames. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  265 

97.  Each  Bunsen  burner  shall  be  considered  to  consume  as  much 
air  as  two  persons. 

98.  Provisions  must  be  made  to  change  air  in  bake  and  work 
rooms  completely  at  least  four  times  each  hour. 

99.  At  no  time  shall  air  in  bakerooms  or  workrooms  contain 
more  than  seven  parts  of  carbon   dioxide  in  ten   thousand  parts 
of  air  by  volume. 

100.  Every  bakery  shall  be  provided  with  ventilating  flues  or 
in  lieu  of  such  flues,  chimneys  may  be  arranged  so  as  to  ventilate 
the  bakery  properly. 

101.  All  outside  windows  shall  be  so  arranged  that  they  can  be 
opened  easily  for  the  purpose  of  ventilation. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

102.  All  drugs,  compounds  and  preparations  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  exterminating  rats,  mice,  roaches  or  other  vermin,  shall 
be  kept  covered,  and  in  a  place  not  used  for  the  storing  of  any 
food  products. 

103.  Cleanings  from    any   machine   or   utensil,    dustings   from, 
flour  sacks,  sweepings  from  the  floor,  or  articles  of  food  which 
have  come  in  direct  contact  with  the  floor,  shall  not  be  used  as 
food  for  public  consumption. 

104.  All  goods  that  have  become  spoiled  or  unfit  for  use  must 
be  removed  from  the  bakery  at  once. 

105.  The  use  of  live  coal  in  steam  boxes  is  prohibited. 

106.  Each  workroom  must  be  supplied  with  one  or  more  cus- 
pidors which  must  be  cleaned  daily. 

107.  No  flour  is  to  be  received  in  any  bakery  unless  it  is  in 
clean  barrels  or  bags.     All  bags  containing  flour  stored  in  bakery 
must  be  kept  covered  to  prevent  dust  settling  thereon  and  no 
empty  flour  sacks  shall  be  used  for  the  purpose  of  lining  bread 
or  roll  boards,  boxes,  pans,  or  to  place  any  dough  upon,  or  to  place 
baked  goods  thereon,  or  for  a  covering  for  bakery  goods  in  process 
of  preparation. 


266  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

108.  All  standards,  rules  and  regulations  adopted  by  the  In- 
dustrial Commission  referring  to  the  proper  safeguarding  of 
machinery,  shall  apply  to  all  machines  used  in  bakeries. 


THE  LAW  ON  BAKEKIES  IN  ENGLAND. 

BAKEHOUSES. 

BAKEHOUSES  are  defined  as  "  places  in  which  are  baked  bread, 
biscuits,  or  confectionery,  from  the  baking  of  which  a  profit  is 
derived."  They  rank  as  non-textile  factories  or  as  workshops, 
according  as  mechanical  power  is  or  is  not  used  for  the  purpose 
of  baking.  Bakehouses,  therefore,  fall  under  the  general  law  re- 
lating to  factories  and  workshops,  but  they  are  not  subject  to  cer- 
tain special  regulations  which  are  set  out  in  this  chapter. 

A  place  underground  may  not  be  used  as  a  bakehouse  unless 
it  was  so  used  before  the  end  of  1901.  Since  the  first  of  Jan- 
uary, 1904,  it  has  not  been  legal  to  use  an  underground  place  as 
a  bakehouse  unless  it  is  certified  by  the  District  Council  to  be  suit- 
able as  regards  construction,  light,  ventilation,  and  in  all  other 
respects.  If  the  District  Council  is  not  satisfied  that  the  place 
is  suitable  in  all  these  respects  they  may  refuse  a  certificate.  The 
occupier  may,  within  21  days  of  the  refusal,  appeal  from  the  Dis- 
trict Council  to  a  Court  of  Summary  Jurisdiction,  and  if  the 
court  is  satisfied  of  the  suitability  of  the  place  it  may  grant  a 
certificate. 

An  underground  bakehouse  is  a  bakehouse  in  which  the  floor 
surface  of  any  baking  room  is  more  than  three  feet  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  footway  of  the  adjoining  street,  or  of  the  ground  ad- 
joining or  nearest  to  the  room. 

Where  a  place  has  been  let  as  a  bakehouse  for  which  the  occu- 
pier cannot  obtain  a  certificate  of  suitability  unless  structural 
alterations  are  made,  he  may  apply  to  a  court  of  Summary  Juris- 
diction for  relief,  which  may  be  given  in  one  of  two  ways.  The 
court  may  either  make  an  order  requiring  the  owner*  to  bear  the 
whole  or  part  of  the  expenses  of  the  alterations,  or  it  may,  at  the 
occupier's  request,  determine  the  lease. 


'An  owner  within  the  meaning  of  sec.  4  of  the  Public  Health  Act,  1875. 


BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS.  267 

A  person  may  not  occupy  any  room  or  place  as  a  bakehouse,  and 
may  not  let  it  or  suffer  it  to  be  occupied  as  a  bakehouse,  unless 
the  following  regulations  are  complied  with : 

(1)  No  water  closet,  earth  closet,  privy,  or  ash  pit  may  be 

within  the  bakehouse  or  communicate  directly  with  it. 

(2)  Any  cistern  for  supplying  water  to  the  bakehouse  must 

be  separate  and  distinct  from  any  cistern  for  supplying 
a  water  closet. 

(3)  No  drain  or  pipe  for  carrying  off  foecal  or  sewage  matter 

may  have  an  opening  within  the  bakehouse. 

In  underground  bakehouses  500  cubic  feet  of  space  must  be  al- 
lowed to  every  person;  in  other  bakehouses  where  work  is  carried 
on  at  night  by  artificial  light  other  than  electric  light,  400  cubic 
feet  of  space  must  be  allowed  to  every  person  in  respect  of  the 
period  between  9  P.  M.  and  6  A.  M.* 

In  every  bakehouse  the  inside  walls  and  ceiling  or  top  of  every 
room,  and  the  passages  and  staircases,  must  either  be  painted  with 
oil,  varnished  or  limewashed,  or  be  partly  painted  or  varnished 
and  partly  limewashed.  Where  there  is  paint  or  varnish,  there 
most  be  three  coats,  renewed  every  seven  years,  and  washed  with 
hot  water  and  soap  every  six  months.  Limewashing  must  be  re- 
newed every  six  months. 

A  place  in  the  same  building  with  a  bakehouse,  and  on  the  same 
floor,  must  not  be  as  a  sleeping  place,  unless : 

(1)  it  is  effectually  separated  from  the  bakehouse  by  a  parti- 

tion from  floor  to  ceiling;  and 

(2)  there  is  in  the  sleeping  place  an  external  window  of  not 

less  than  nine  superficial  feet  in  extent,  of  which  four 
and  a  half  superficial  feet  are  made  to  open. 

There  is  also  a  general  provision  that,  where  a  Court  of  Sum- 
mary Jurisdiction  is  satisfied  that  a  place  used  as  a  bakehouse 
is  unfit  on  sanitary  grounds  to  be  so  used,  the  court,  in  addition  to 

'These  requirements  are  embodied  in  an  order  of  the  Secretary  of  State, 
dated  December  30,  1903  (gazetted  January  1,  1904:  F.  and  W.  O.,  1908,  p.  9). 


268  BAKERIES  AND  BAKERS. 

or  instead  of  imposing  a  fine  on  the  occupier,  may  order  him  to 
remove  the  ground  of  complaint  within  a  given  time,  under  pen- 
alty of  a  fine  not  exceeding  1  pound  ($5)  per  day  during  non- 
compliance. 

All  bakehouses  which  are  factories  (i.  e.,  those  in  which  me- 
chanical power  is  used  in  aid  of  the  process  of  baking)  are  in  all 
respects  subject  to  the  control  of  factory  inspectors  in  the  same 
manner  as  other  factories.  But  as  far  as  concerns  a  "  retail  bake- 
house "  (that  is  a  bakehouse  or  place,  not  being  a  factory,  the 
bread,  biscuits,  or  confectionery  baked  in  which  are  not  sold  whole- 
sale but  by  retail  in  some  shop  or  place  occupied  together  with 
such  bakehouse),  the  special  sanitary  provisions  mentioned  in  this 
chapter  are  administered  by  the  District  Council  and  their  officers, 
and  not  by  the  factory  inspector,  but  the  regulations  as  to  educa- 
tion, hours  of  work,  and  meal  times  are  administered  by  the  fac- 
tory inspector. 

The  provisions  of  the  principal  Act  which  apply  to  men's  work- 
shops, and  the  special  sanitary  provisions  for  bakehouses,  apply 
to  a  bakehouse  which  is  a  workshop  in  which  no  child,  young  per- 
son or  woman  is  employed. 

Three  of  the  special  exceptions,  by  virtue  of  which  exceptional 
employment  is  allowed  in  factories  and  workshops,  apply  to  bake- 
houses. These  exceptions  relate  to : 

(1)  special  employment  of  male  young  persons  over  16; 

(2)  overtime  of  women  in  biscuit  making;  and 

(3)  overtime  of  children,  young  persons,  and  women  for  half 

an  hour  at  the  end  of  the  day.     (Incomplete  process.) 

The  provisions  of  the  principal  Act  which  require  (1)  that  the 
meals  of  all  children,  young  persons,  and  women  shall  be  simul- 
taneous, and  (2)  that  no  child,  young  person,  or  woman  shall,  dur- 
ing meal  times,  be  employed,  or  allowed  to  remain,  in  a  room  in 
which  work  is  being  done,  do  not  apply  to  bakehouses  which  are 
factories,  and  in  which  bread  and  biscuits  are  made  by  means 
of  traveling  ovens. 


APPENDIX     IV 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES 
IN  NEW  YORK  STATE 

NOTES  ON  SOME  TRADES  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE  EMPLOYING  A 

LARGE  PROPORTION  OF  WOMEN  WORKERS 

BY  VIOLET  PIKE 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES 
IN  NEW  YORK  STATE 

I     Extent  and  Importance  of  Women's  Work  in  Factories  in 
New  York  State. 

II  Sources  of  Information. 
Ill  Extent  of  Investigation. 
IV  Notes  on  Some  Trades  in  Which  Women  are  Employed. 

1.  Artificial  Flower  and  Feather  Industry  in  New 

York. 

2.  Women's  Waist  Trade  in  New  York. 

3.  Steam  Laundries  in  New  York. 

4.  Paper  Box  Factories. 

5.  Textile  Mills  at  Utica. 

6.  Men's  Clothing  Trade  in  Rochester. 

V     Character  of  the  Work  Done  by  Women  in  Factories. 
VI     Hours  of  Labor  of  Women  in  Factories. 

I.     IMPORTANCE  OF  WOMEN'S  WORK  IN  FACTORIES 
IN  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

Trades  in  which  large  numbers  of  women  are  employed  are 
sometimes  called  women's  trades.  This  is  only  true  in  a  com- 
parative sense.  Women  workers  in  New  York  State  are  found  in 
all  the  trades  in  varying  proportions.  Even  electrical  works,  iron 
foundries  and  automobile  shops  have  their  quota  of  women  work- 
ers. The  only  industries  in  this  State  (except  for  some  very 


272 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 


minor  industries  employing  less  than  one  thousand  workers) 
which  do  not  employ  women,  are  the  manufacture  of  bricks,  tiles, 
fertilizers  and  ice.  According  to  the  preliminary  report  of  the 
United  States  census,  1910,  293,637  women  are  at  work  in  fac- 
tories in  New  York  State,  30  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
wage-earners  employed. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  and  proportion  of 
women  workers  in  the  industries  investigated  by  the  Commission, 
and  the  numbers  and  proportion  of  women  in  the  same  industries 
in  the  State. 

TABLE   No.  1. 

NUMBERS  AND  PHOPOHTION  OF  WOMEN  WAGE  EARNERS  IN  MANUFACTURING  ESTABLISHMENTS 

IN  SELECTED  INDUSTRIES,  COMPARED  WITH  NUMBERS  AND  PROPORTION  OF 

WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  THE  STATE  AT  LARGE. 


WAGE  EARNERS  IN  ESTAB- 
LISHMENTS INVESTIGATED 

WAGE  EARNERS  IN  ESTABIJSH- 
MENTS  IN  NEW  YORK  STATE 

All 
workers 

Women 

Per  cent 
Women 

All 
workers 

Women 

Per  cent 
Women 

Artificial  flowers  and  feathers.  . 
Clothing  (waiste)  

1,891 
11,896 
3,491 
5,523 
557 
1,513 
2,911 
611 
929 
341 
331 
547 
2,677 
1,739 
6,657 
987 
3,021 
50 
443 
11,957 

1,493 
9.186 
2,596 
4,148 
406 
976 
1,722 
364 
514 
188 
178 
256 
919 
536 
872 
87 
1 

79 
77 
74 
75 
72 
64 
60 
60 
55 
55 
53 
47 
34 
31 
13 
9 

8,301 
97,656 
11,203 

* 

7,152 
56,185 
7.253 

86 
57 
65 

Paper  boxes  

Laundries  

Pickles  

7,003 
9,268 
8,399 
890 
5,224 
1,517 

3,901 
4,010 
4,967 
394 
1,551 
465 

56 
43 
59 
45 
29 
31 

Textiles  

Candy  

Corks  

Dyeing  and  cleaning  

Spices  and  drugs  

Rags  

Human  hair  

2,303 
29,757 
5,733 
62,505 
6,104 
21,250 
* 

1,305 
15,191 
166 
13,997 
168 
2,837 

56 
54 
3 
22 
2 
13 

Tobacco  

Chemicals  

Printing  

Meat  packing  

Bread  

Ice  cream  

Mineral  waters  

* 

Other  trades  

989 

9 

776,868 

173,983 

22 

Total  

58,072 

25.431 

44 

1,003,981 

293,525 

30 

*Not  listed  in  preliminary  report  U.  S.  Census,  1910. 

The  importance  of  the  women  workers'  part  in  manufacture 
is  evident  from  this  table.  They  have  become  a  permanent  fac- 
tor in  the  industrial  life  of  the  State.  Yet  the  individual  work- 
ers are  constantly  shifting  and  changing.  It  has  been  said  that 
seven  years  is  the  average  length  of  time  a  woman  remains  at 
factory  work,  for  the  mass  of  women  workers  after  a  term  of 
years  leave  the  factory  to  become  wives  and  mothers.  The  con- 
cern of  the  State  in  its  women  workers  is  therefore  two-fold.  It 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  -!7o 

is  interested  in  their  welfare  as  workers,  but  it  is  far  more  deeply 
concerned  that  they  do  not,  while  adding  to  its  economic  wealth, 
work  under  such  conditions  as  to  impair  their  health  and  vitality 
as  mothers  of  the  next  generation. 

II.     SOURCES  OF  INFORMATION. 

Owing  to  limitation  of  time  and  resources,  no  investigation 
was  made  into  special  conditions  affecting  women  workers,  al- 
though six  of  the  twenty  industries  considered  by  the  Commission 
employed  large  numbers  of  women.  This  report,  therefore,  deals 
chiefly  with  results  obtained  through  the  general  sanitary  in- 
vestigation, which  was  limited  for  the  most  part  to  observation 
of  actual  conditions  prevailing  in  the  work-places.  In  general 
(these  conditions  do  not  differ  materially  in  shops  employing 
men  or  women,  or  both),  establishments  in  standardized  indus- 
tries, conducted  in  districts  where  rents  are  normal,  are  not  so 
apt  to  offend  in  regard  to  general  sanitary  conditions  as  are  estab- 
lishments in  unstandardized  trades,  in  localities  where  there  is 
much  speculation  in  land  values.  Dirt,  dust  and  disorder, 
overcrowding,  bad  lighting  and  ventilation  are  no  respecters  of 
sex.  They  are  found  in  all  industries,  in  shops  employing  both 
men  and  women.  Their  prevention  is  not  so  much  a  matter  for 
legislation,  as  for  rigid  enforcement  of  simple  and  well-defined 
sanitary  standards.  Information  in  regard  to  these  factors  which 
most  affect  the  health  of  women  workers,  namely,  duration,  inten- 
sity and  character  of  employment,  sweating,  seasonal  work  and 
.wages,  was  gained  only  incidentally.  Except  for  the  question  of 
duration  this  report  does  not  attempt  to  deal  with  them. 

The  following  table  gives  the  number  of  inspections  made, 
establishments  inspected  and  numbers  and  proportion  of  women 
workers  in  the  six  trades  employing  the  largest  number  of  women 
workers,  and  their  ratio  to  the  total  number  of  women  workers  in 
these  industries. 


274 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 


TABLE   Xo.  2. 

ESTABLISHMENTS  AND  WORKERS  IN  SELECTED  INDUSTRIES  EMPLOYING  OVER  SITTT  PER  CENT 

or  WOMEN  WORKERS. 


INDUSTRY 

No. 

Estab- 
lish- 

meats 

No. 
inspec- 
tions 

WORKERS 

Per  cent 
of  workers 
in  State 
covered  by 
investigation 

Men 

Women 

Minors 

Artificial      flowers      and 
feathers  

94 
200 
110 
53 

7 

120 
228 
244 
135 
28 

341 

2,016 
1.339 
832 
492 

1.493 
9,425 
4,148 
2,595 
976 

57 
141 
36 
203 
32 

19 
10 
*43 
20 
15 

Clothing  (waists)  

Laundries  

Paper  boxes  

Textiles  

Total  

518 

911 

6.004 

20.359 

534 

16 

•Percentage  based  on  figures  given  by  State  Dept.  Labor. 

in.     EXTENT  OF  THE  INVESTIGATION. 

The  94  artificial  flower  and  feather  firms,  and  the  200  estab- 
lishments in  the  women's  waist  trade  were  located  in  New  York 
city.  Inspections  of  the  textile  mills  were  made  at  Utica,  and  the 
report  on  the  men's  clothing  trade  was  the  result  of  a  brief  investi- 
gation at  Rochester.  Laundries  were  visited  in  New  York,  Buffalo 
and  Troy;  paper-box  factories  in  New  York  and  Buffalo.  The 
reports  on  laundries  and  the  knitting  mills  at  Utica  and  the  men's 
clothing  trade  in  Rochester  were  prepared  by  Miss  Louise  Carey. 

IV.  NOTES  ON  SOME  TRADES  IN  WHICH  WOMEN 
ARE  EMPLOYED. 

1.     ARTIFICIAL  FLOWERS  AND  FEATHERS. 

New  York  city  is  the  great  center  of  this  trade.  Three-fourths 
of  the  artificial  flowers  manufactured  in  the  United  States  are 
made  in  New  York  city,  and  particularly  on  Manhattan  Island. 
This,  too,  is  a  trade  that  employs  a  very  large  proportion  of 
women.  In  the  shops  investigated  by  the  Commission,  1,493,  or 
79  per  cent  of  the  workers  employed,  were  women.  The  propor- 
tion of  women  workers  in  the  trade  in  New  York  State  is  as  much 
as  86  per  cent. 

Processes  in  the  Trade: 

Flower  and  feather  making,  though  quite  different  processes, 
are  frequently  carried  on  in  the  same  factory  and  by  the  same 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  275 

workers.  This  is  due  to  the  shortness  of  the  flower  season.  When 
the  flower  season  is  over,  the  workers  begin  making  up  feathers 
for  the  winter  trade.  A  number  of  establishments  make  only 
feathers,  as  the  demand  for  these  is  steadier.  Of  the  94  estab- 
lishments investigated,  22  made  only  flowers,  47  only  feathers, 
and  25  both  flowers  and  feathers. 

The  processes  in  flower  and  feather-making  are  nearly  all  car- 
ried on  by  hand,  with  the  aid  of  simple  tools.  A  few  men  are 
usually  employed  in  each  shop  for  dyeing  the  materials  and 
cutting  and  stamping  the  leaves  and  petals,  but  all  the  rest  of  the 
work  that  goes  to  make  the  finished  flower  is  done  by  the  women. 
They  crimp  the  petals  with  heated  irons,  wrap  the  stems  and 
"  slip  up  "  the  petals  of  the  cheaper  flowers.  In  the  better  grades 
of  roses,  each  petal  has  its  place  and  is  attached  separately,  the 
operation  requiring  not  a  little  skill.  After  the  flowers  are  made 
they  are  "  branched  "  and  arranged  in  wreaths  and  in  combina- 
tions with  foliage. 

In  making  artificial  flowers  a  possible  danger  in  the  trade 
comes  from  the  use  of  aniline  dyes.  The  workers  complain  of 
irritation  to  the  skin  and  to  the  membranes  of  the  nose  and  throat. 
The  colors  rub  off  on  the  hands  and  are  apt  to  be  transferred  to 
,the  face  and  mouth  of  the  worker  in  the  course  of  the  day's  work. 

In  the  artificial  feather  trade  there  is  some  danger  to  the  work- 
ers from  the  constant  inhaling  of  tiny  bits  of  feather  fluff  that  are 
detached  during  the  processes.  Sore  throat,  asthma,  bronchitis 
and  diseases  of  the  eyes  often  occur  among  feather  workers.  For 
this  reason  it  is  considered  a  rather  unwholesome  trade. 

Condition  of  Work  Places: 

Of  the  94  establishments  inspected,  45  per  cent  were  situated  in 
tenements,  converted  tenements,  or  dwellings.  This  is  very  char- 
acteristic of  the  trade,  as  it  needs  no  machinery ;  the  tools  are  sim- 
ple, the  materials  cheap  and  not  bulky.  Tenements  and  private 
houses  were  never  intended  for  manufacture;  their  light  and  ven- 
tilation are  bound  to  be  deficient.  Seventeen  per  cent  of  the 
establishments  inspected  used  artificial  light  in  the  daytime.  A 
basement  shop  on  Broadway  employing  30  workers  had  no  win- 
dows at  all  and  only  one  small  electric  fan. 


276  WOMEX  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

About  one-quarter  of  the  shops  inspected  were  really  clean; 
while  almost  half  were  in  a  really  filthy  condition,  a  larger  propor- 
tion than  that  found  in  any  other  of  the  six  trades.  Xo  lunch 
rooms  for  the  workers  were  found  in  any  of  the  establishments, 
and  only  Jn  eight  were  the  washing  arrangements  ample. 

Home  Work: 

The  artificial  flower  and  feather  trade  is  one  of  the  largest 
home-work  trades  in  the  city.  The  trade  is  concentrated  in  dis- 
tricts near  the  congested  tenement  sections,  such  as  lower  Broad- 
way from  Spring  to  Eighth  streets.  In  a  detailed  and  careful 
study  of  the  artificial  flower  trade  made  by  the  Committee  on 
Women's  Work  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  in  the  spring  of 
1910,  out  of  114  firms  investigated,  76  firms  gave  out  home  work 
to  between  2,227  and  2,385  families.  Two  was  the  smallest 
number  of  workers  found  in  any  one  family.  The  evils  of  tene- 
ment work  have  been  fully  explained  and  described  year  after 
year,  so  that  it  is  hard  to  believe  that  anyone  can  still  be  ignorant 
of  its  danger  to  the  purchasing  public  and  to  the  workers 
themselves. 

Considered  by  its  effect  on  the  trade,  home  work  is  even  more 
disastrous.  These  thousands  of  workers  outside  the  factory  are 
not  only  a  temptation  to  progressive  exploitation  themselves,  but 
unconsciously  assist  in  reducing  the  wages  of  the  workers  inside 
the  factory,  and  in  shortening  the  already  too  short  season.  These 
effects  are  clearly  shown  in  the  study  mentioned  above. 

By  home-work  or  tenement-work  is  meant  any  kind  of  manu- 
facturing done  for  a  manufacturer,  contractor  or  agent  by  persons 
not  working  on  the  premises  or  under  the  supervision  of  such  a 
manufacturer,  contractor  or  agent,  the  wages  and  rates  of  pay- 
ment for  these  workers  being  fixed  by  the  persons  giving  out  the 
work.  In  its  essence  home-work,  as  thus  defined,  is  unlawful, 
or  at  least  beyond  control  by  law.  In  New  York  State  we  have  a 
Labor  Code,  certain  sections  of  which  exist  for  the  express  purpose 
of  regulating  conditions  under  which  manufacturing  may  be  car- 
ried on  in  the  State,  but  by  giving  out  home-work  a  manufacturer 
is  literally  able  to  break  every  law  on  the  statute  books.  His 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  277 

work  may  be  done  in  unclean,  unsanitary  surroundings,  it  may  be 
performed  by  little  children  or  minors  working  long  hours  after 
5  p.  m.,  when  the  law  frees  the  girl  and  boy  workers  in  the  fac- 
tories, or  by  young  girls  working  far  into  the  night.  Home- 
work means  unregulated  manufacturing,  carried  on  beyond  the 
possibility  of  control  as  to  hours  of  women's  work,  child  labor, 
night-work  of  minors,  or  cleanliness  and  sanitation  of  work-places. 
In  its  efforts  to  inspect  the  13,000  licensed  tenements  in  New 
York  city,  the  Department  of  Labor  is  attempting  the  impossible. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  community,  the  greatest  objection 
to  home-work  is  its  lawlessness. 

2.     CLOTHING  (WOMEN'S  WAISTS). 
Location  of  Buildings: 

New  York  city  is  the  greatest  center  of  the  women's  waist  trace 
in  the  United  States.  The  228  shops  inspected  were  on  Manhat- 
tan Island,  south  of  35th  street,  in  the  most  congested  portion  of 
the  city.  Ninety-one  per  cent  of  the  establishments  irspected  were 
located  in  loft  buildings,  and  of  the  11,000  odd  workers  in  these 
shops,  one-half  were  employed  above  the  sixth  floor.  This  over- 
whelming proportion  of  loft  shops  is  characteristic  of  all  branches 
of  the  clothing  trade  in  New  York  city.  The  Asch  fire  disaster 
of  last  March  threw  a  lurid  light  on  the  fearful  risks  to  tha 
workers  involved  in  such  a  situation. 

Condition  of  Work  Places: 

It  is  remarkable  that  a  very  large  percentage  (62  per  cent)  of 
the  waist  shops  inspected  used  artificial  light  in  the  daytime,  while 
60  per  cent  had  no  protection  from  glare  —  this,  too,  in  a  trade 
where  proper  lighting  would  seem  to  be  a  prime  necessity  for  effi- 
cient, accurate  work,  to  say  nothing  of  the  effect  of  such  inade- 
quate illumination  on  the  eyes  and  health  of  the  workers. 

A  larger  percentage  (28  per  cent)  of  extremely  dirty  shops  were 
found  than  in  any  other  trade  employing  over  50  per  cent  of 
women  workers,  with  the  exception  of  the  artificial  flower  and 
feather  industry.  Thirty  per  cent  of  the  water  closets  were  in  a 
filthy  condition  and  had  no  light  or  ventilation  whatever. 


278  WOMEN  WOKKEKS  ix  FACTORIES. 

Processes  of  Manufacture: 

The  waist  trade  has  had  many  vicissitudes  of  late  years,  owing 
Jo  changes  in  the  market,  and  many  shops  that  formerly  made  only 
.waists  now  make  waists  and  dresses,  either  together  or  as  supple- 
mentary trades.  The  processes  do  not  differ  greatly  from  the  other 
branches  of  the  clothing  trade.  Men  are  always  employed  to  do 
the  cutting  of  the  materials,  and  a  small  proportion  of  men  oper- 
ators is  found  in  some  of  the  shops,  particularly  those  making  the 
cheaper  grades  of  waists  and  dresses.  Women  are  employed  at 
the  different  branches  of  operating ;  such  as  lace  running,  tucking, 
and  machine  button-holing,  and  also  as  finishers  and  hand  button- 
hole makers.  In  making  the  cheaper  grades  of  waists,  the  subdi- 
vision of  processes  is  carried  very  far,  and  a  waist  may  pass 
through  the  hands  of  a  dozen  workers  before  it  is  finished.  This 
"  section  work  "  is  nearly  always  piece-work  and  requires  very 
little  skill,  speed  being  the  prime  necessity.  The  better  grade  of 
waists  and  dresses,  however,  cannot  be  made  in  this  way;  and  one 
girl  will  make  the  whole  garment,  or  a  large  part  of  it.  Such 
workers  are  usually  paid  by  the  week,  since  greater  skill  and  care- 
fulness are  required. 

Dangerous  and  Unhealthy  Elements  in  the  Trade: 

In  common  with  the  other  branches  of  the  clothing  trade,  the 
dangers  to  the  women  workers  are  not  inherent  in  the  industry 
itself,  but  are  due  to  the  conditions  under  which  manufacture  is 
conducted.  The  hazards  of  death  or  injury  from  fire  that  must 
be  daily  assumed  by  the  women  worker  in  loft  factories  on  Man- 
hattan Island  are  terrific.  But  the  overcrowding  of  work  rooms, 
long  periods  of  overtime,  with  irregular  daily  schedules,  running 
from  ten  to  fourteen  hours,  with  consequent  over-fatigue  and 
exhaustion,  the  speeding  up  of  both  workers  and  machines,  which 
.keeps  nerves  and  muscles  in  continued  tension,  are  factors  that 
from  day  to  day  seriously  impair  the  health  and  vitality  of  the 
women  workers.  No  amount  of  cleanliness  and  convenience  in 
.the  work  rooms  can  offset  the  injurious  effects  resulting  from  long, 
irregular  working  hours  and  nervous  strain. 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  27D 

3.     STEAM  LAUNDRIES  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY.* 
Character  of  the  Work: 

The  character  of  work  done  in  New  York  laundries  varies  with 
the  type  of  laundry.  There  are,  roughly  speaking,  seven  types: 
hand,  custom,  manufacturers',  wholesale,  flat  work,  hotel  and  weft- 
wash  laundries.  Hand  laundries  do  hand  ironing  only;  custom 
laundries  do  general  family  work,  dealing  directly  with  the  cus- 
tomer ;  manufacturers'  laundries,  which  are  generally  run  in  con- 
junction with  a  factory,  do  up  new  work  only,  the  process  depend- 
ing on  the  character  of  the  goods. 

Wholesale  laundries  are  institutions  peculiar  to  New  York 
city.  These  laundries  receive  their  work  from  the  four  or  five 
thousand  so-called  hand  laundries  in  large  nets  about  a  yard 
square  and  return  it  to  them  rough  dried,  with  the  exception  of 
collars  and  cuffs,  which  are  ironed  by  machine.  In  some  cases 
they  do  flat  work,  sheets,  towels,  napkins  and  pillow-cases;  but 
more  often  flat  work  is  sent  to  factories  that  make  a  specialty  of 
mangling  and  are  patronized  by  hand-laundries,  hotels,  restaur- 
ants, steamships  and  railroad  companies.  Hotel  laundries  as  a 
general  rule  do  flat  work  only,  but  some  of  them  have  a  custom 
laundry  department  run  in  conjunction  with  the  hotel.  Wet  wash 
laundries  constitute  still  another  class.  These  do  washing  for 
families  at  fifty  cents  a  basket,  returning  the  clothes  rough  dried 
to  their  customers. 

Description  of  Process: 

The  several  processes  in  the  laundry  trade  are  washing,  extract- 
ing, starching,  drying  and  ironing.  The  principal  operations  are 
listing,  marking,  assorting,  washing  by  hand  and  by  machine, 
tending  extractors,  shaking,  feeding  and  folding,  starching  by 
hand  and  by  machine,  collar  finishing,  mending  and  tying  up. 
The  same  girls  are  generally  employed  as  checkers,  markers  and 
assorters.  The  checkers  or  listers  and  the  markers  have  the 
unpleasant  and  dangerous  task  of  examining  and  marking  the 
soiled  clothes  as  they  come  in,  and  while  their  work  is  mainly 


•Thia  report  is  based  on  an  examination  of  110  laundries  in  the  State,  84 
of  which  were  in  New  York  city. 


280  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

clerical,  both  they  and  the  assorters,  who  go  over  the  clean  clothes, 
are  obliged  to  stand  all  day. 

The  operating  of  washing  machines  is  in  New  York  almost 
invariably  done  by  men.  These  machines  are  large,  cylindrical 
receptacles,  approximately  5x2^  feet  in  size,  in  which,  by  a 
reversing  motion,  the  dirty  clothes  are  shaken  up  with  hot  water, 
soap  and  chemicals.  In  the  same  room  with  the  washing  machines 
are  the  extractors.  The  dripping  clothes  are  packed  into  a  per- 
forated metal  basket,  which  is  enclosed  in  a  heavy  iron  shell  con- 
necting with  a  drain;  the  basket  is  then  whirled  round  at  an 
extraordinary  speed,  and  the  water  is  forced  out  at  the  perfora- 
tions by  centrifugal  force.  The  proper  guard  for  an  extractor  is 
a  metal  covering,  but  laundrymen  find  that  heavy  canvas  is  more 
efficient  protection  for  the  clothes.  The  objection  to  the  canvas 
covering  is  that  in  case  of  a  light  load  it  is  impossible  to  adjust, 
and  the  machine  is  allowed  to  run  unguarded. 

The  mangle  room  is  generally  situated  above  the  wash  room, 
but  is  also  frequently  a  part  of  it.  The  shakers,  generally  young 
girls,  take  the  twisted  clothes  as  they  come  out  of  the  extractors 
and  slap  or  shake  them  violently,  an  operation  which  must  be 
performed  standing,  and  is  fatiguing  in  the  extreme.  The  feed- 
ers or  manglers  also  have  to  stand  at  their  work.  They  take  the 
sheets,  pillow-cases,  napkins,  etc.,  from  the  shakers,  and  so  place 
them  on  the  apron  of  the  mangle  that  they  are  carried  under 
and  over  revolving  padded  rolls  which  receive  their  heat  from  a 
large  steam-heated  cylinder.  The  folders  on  the  other  side  receive 
the  freshly  ironed  work,  fold  it  and  place  it  aside.  When  the 
articles  are  small,  the  latter  are  sometimes  allowed  to  sit  at  their 
work. 

After  the  process  of  mangling,  flat  work  is  finished,  and  as  soon 
as  it  has  passed  through  the  hand  of  the  assorters,  is  ready  for 
delivering.  All  other  work  as  it  comes  from  the  shakers  goes  through 
a  starching  process,  the  starching  room  being  generally  situated 
above  the  mangle  room.  Collar  and  cuff  starching  machines,  built 
somewhat  like  small  mangles,  are  in  use  in  most  of  the  laundries 
in  New  York,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  starching  is  still  done 
by  hand.  It  is  one  of  the  duties  of  the  starchers  to  attend  to  the 
drying  of  the  clothes.  Making  part  of  the  starch  room,  or  con- 


WOMEN  WORKERS  ix  FACTORIES.  281 

necting  with  it,  is  the  dry  room,  a  wooden  chamber  in  which  the 
air  is  heated  up  to  300  degrees  F.  The  clothes  are  generally 
hung  on  sliding  racks,  but  a  system  of  endless  chains  is  coming 
into  use.  The  collar  and  shirt  dampening  machines  are  also  found 
in  the  dry  rooms.  These  machines  are  built  like  mangles  and 
are  partially  enclosed  by  wooden  shields.  The  operators  feed 
between  the  rolls. 

The  ironing  department  is  generally  found  on  the  top  floor. 
The  process  of  hand  ironing  is  the  same  in  the  steam  laundry  as 
in  the  home,  except  that  the  work  is  done  at  a  much  greater  speed, 
and  the  irons  are  gas-heated.  Owing  to  the  great  amount  of 
strength  required,  a  large  percentage  of  the  hand  ironers  are  men. 
On  the  other  hand,  women  are  employed  almost  exclusivly  to  oper- 
ate the  ironing  machines,  of  which  there  are  many  types.  Collars 
and  cuffs  are  ironed  by  means  of  what  is  known  as  the  collar  iron- 
ing machine,  but,  properly  speaking,  it  should  be  called  a  collar 
mangle.  The  collars  and  cuffs  are  fed  over  a  wooden  board 
between  a  series  of  gas  or  steam-heated  rolls,  and  received  on  the 
other  side.  Both  operators  and  receivers  may  sometimes  be  seated, 
though  more  usually  they  stand. 

Another  type  is  the  body  ironer,  which  consists  of  two  large 
rolls,  the  lower  generally  padded  and  the  upper  heated  by  a  row 
of  gas  jets.  The  article  is  slipped  over  the  lower  roll  and  the 
operator,  by  foot  pressure,  releases  a  spring,  which  lifts  this  into 
contact  with  the  heated  surface.  The  pressure  must  be  continu- 
ous and  steady,  and  in  most  cases  a  reversing  motion  requires 
double  treadle  action.  Machines  of  this  type  vary  greatly.  Some 
require  almost  the  whole  weight  of  the  operator,  others  only  a 
slight  pressure,  but  the  lower  part  of  the  operator's  body  is  in  a 
constant  state  of  contortion.  Shirt,  bosom,  cuff,  collar  and  neck 
band  presses  are  also  operated  by  means  of  treadles,  but  with  this 
difference  —  the  motion  of  only  one  foot  is  required  and  that 
motion  is  not  continuous  but  spasmodic.  As  in  the  case  of  the 
body  ironers,  the  more  recent  makes  of  machine  demand  far  less 
actual  physical  effort. 

Five  or  six  types  of  collar-finishing  machines  are  in  use  —  seam 
dampeners,  collar  tipping  machines,  collar  shapers,  etc.  The 
operation  in  each  case  involves  merely  the  feeding  of  the  machine, 


282  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

except  for  the  wing  point  tipper,  which  requires  a  very  violent 
double  treadle  action.  The  girls  at  the  collar-finishing  machines 
usually  sit  at  their  work,  with  the  exception  of  the  operators  on 
the  wing-point  tipper. 

Workers: 

There  seem  to  be  more  German  women  than  of  any  other 
nationality  in  the  laundry  trade;  Italians  come  next,  then  Poles, 
and,  lastly,  Americans.  A  number  of  Jewish  men  are  em- 
ployed as  shirt  ironers,  but  very  few  Jewish  women.  There  are 
not  many  very  young  girls.  The  majority  of  women  look  over 
thirty,  many  of  them  over  fifty;  and  the  men  look,  for  the 
most  part,  over  thirty-five.  About  80  per  cent  of  the  workers 
are  women,  men  being  employed  only  as  washers  and  shirt  ironers. 
Women  are  employed  in  all  departments  with  the  exception  of 
the  wash  room.  The  great  fatigue  of  both  men  and  ^omen 
laundry  work  is  very  evident. 

Condition  of  the  Work  Places: 

Most  of  the  New  York  laundries  were  found  to  be  dirty,  only 
three  of  them  being  in  really  good  condition  in  regard  to  cleanli- 
ness of  walls,  floors  and  ceilings.  The  floors  of  the  starch  rooms 
are  particularly  neglected.  The  washing  facilities  consist  in  almost 
every  case  of  a  sink,  generally  dirty,  and  a  cold  water  spigot.  The 
toilet  rooms  are  rarely  clean,  and  there  is  generally  no  ventilation 
except  from  the  shop.  Special  lunch  rooms  are  not  provided, 
and  employees  eat  their  lunch  in  the  shop. 

Artificial  light  is  needed  and  used  in  the  majority  of  the  laun- 
dries. Welsbach  burners  are  most  frequently  found. 

The  problem  of  ventilation  is  partially  met  by  fans  and  exhaust 
pipes;  but  the  air  of  almost  every  steam  laundry  is  oppres- 
sive. One  reason  for  poor  ventilation  in  the  winter  is  that  the 
laundries  have,  as  a  rule,  no  special  system  of  heating,  and  so  turn 
off  the  exhaust  fans  and  shut  all  windows  as  soon  as  the  cold 
weather  sets  in. 

Dangerous  Elements  in  the  Trade: 

There  are  dangerous  elements  connected  with  every  operation 
in  laundry  work.  They  may  be  classed  as  dangers  from  over- 


WOMEJST  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  283 

heating,  from  steam,  from  gas,  from  water,  from  unguarded 
machinery  and  from  undue  physical  strain. 

It  is  a  significant  fact  that  so  much  heat  is  generated  by  the 
processes  of  the  trade  that  it  is  rare  to  find  in  a  steam  laundry 
any  other  system  of  heating.  The  air  is  most  oppressive  in  the 
starching  department,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  the  drying  room, 
but  the  ironing  room  and  the  wash  room  are  almost  equally  uncom- 
fortable. Laundresses  frequently  complain  of  the  floors  being  hot, 
and  it  is  quite  usual  to  see  them  standing  with  their  swollen  feet 
tied  up  in  rags.  It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  excessive  heat  has  a 
debilitating  effect  on  the  whole  system. 

Steam  is  visibly  present  in  every  department  of  the  laundry 
except  in  the  ironing  room,  which  thereby  escapes  having  an 
exhaust  fan.  The  washing  machines  and  mangles  generate  the 
greater  part  of  the  steam,  but  the  starching  machines  and  the  dry 
rooms  are  responsible  to  some  extent  for  the  humidity  of  the  air. 
Laundresses  complain  of  pains  in  the  chest  as  the  result  of  in- 
haling steam,  and  they  are  particularly  liable  to  colds,  coughs 
and  bronchitis.  The  mortality  from  consumption  among  laundry 
workers,  noted  by  Sir  Thomas  Oliver  and  Professor  Landouzy, 
is  said  to  be  due  to  the  inhalation  of  steam. 

Mention  has  been  made  of  the  use  of  gas  in  laundry  work.  It 
is  generally  admitted  that  the  use  of  gas  vitiates  the  atmosphere 
and  so  affects  the  workers.  In  the  case  of  laundry  machinery,  the 
leakage  is  so  noticeable  that  workers  frequently  suffer  from  car- 
bon monoxide  poison.  Laundresses  complain  of  headaches,  sore 
eyes,  nausea  and  dizziness,  caused  by  escaping  gas,  as  well  as 
of  a  general  run-down  condition. 

The  problem  of  water  on  the  floor  relates  only  to  the  washing 
room.  Many  of  the  washers  suffer  from  rheumatism  from  this 
cause. 

With  regard  to  dangerous  machinery,  mention  has  been  made 
of  devices  for  covering  extractors.  It  has  frequently  happened 
that  men  have  had  their  arms  torn  off  for  lack  of  proper  guards. 
In  this  connection,  the  case  of  Beckstein  vs.  the  Central  Star 
Laundry  Company  (140  App.  Division  8),  is  interesting.  Plain- 
tiff had  his  arm  torn  off  and  could  not  recover  on  the  ground  that 
it  was  not  customary  to  provide  covers  for  such  machines,  and  that, 


284  WOMEN  WORKERS  ix  FACTORIES. 

when  provided,  their  purpose  was  the  protection  of  the  clothes 
from  dirt  rather  than  of  the  men  from  injury.  Another  case 
brought  by  the  Bureau  of  Factory  Inspection  against  a  laundry 
for  not  providing  covers  for  extractors,  was  dismissed  on  the 
ground  that  extractors  are  not  dangerous  machines.  It  is  also 
usual  to  find  unguarded  or  insufficiently  guarded  belting  and  pul- 
leys in  steam  laundries.  This  constitutes  considerable  danger  to 
women,  on  account  of  the  possibility  of  their  skirts  and  hair  catch- 
ing in  these  pulleys.  Cases  are  known  of  girls  being  scalped  in 
this  way. 

There  has  been  so  much  discussion  of  the  dangers  of  mangle 
work  that  it  is  impossible  now  to  find  a  totally  unguarded  mangle, 
but  while  improvements  are  constantly  being  made  in  the  ma- 
chines, no  guard  in  use  seems  to  cover  the  case.  The  older  types 
of  guard  are  stationary  rolls  and  upright  bars,  the  former  being 
more  generally  used  in  New  York  city.  It  has,  however,  been 
the  experience  of  many  laundry  workers  that  the  small  roll  acts 
as  a  warning  rather  than  as  a  guard.  If  it  is  placed  near  the 
large  roll  there  is  danger  of  the  hand  being  drawn  in,  and  if  at 
some  distance,  a  space  is  left  unguarded.  With  regard  to  the 
upright  bar,  there  is  a  chance  of  the  hand  being  injured  and  burnt, 
though  it  is  improbable  that  it  could  be  absolutely  crushed.  The 
rolls  and  upright  guards  on  the  latest  makes  are  so  constructed  that 
they  move  forward  and  the  machinery  stops  as  soon  as  there  is  any 
pressure  on  them,  but  in  case  of  the  roll,  it  would  still  be  possible 
for  the  operator  to  get  a  hand  on  the  further  side,  and  an  em- 
ployer told  tihe  investigator  that  he  had  found  girls  trying  to 
straighten  material  between  a  movable  upright  guard  and  the 
large  roll.  While  the  operation  of  feeding  the  mangle  is  obviously 
more  dangerous  than  that  of  folding,  the  feeder  has  been  compar- 
atively so  well  protected  that  it  is  now  the  folder  who  is  in  great 
danger.  It  is,  of  course,  unlikely  that  a  girl  would  reach  forward 
and  so  get  her  hands  between  the  rolls  at  the  back  of  the  mangle, 
but  such  cases  do  occur,  and  in  a  very  recent  one,  a  girl  lost  both 
her  hands. 

Starching  machines,  roll-ironing  machines,  steam  presses  and 
shirt  and  collar  dampeners  are  all  open  to  the  same  objection,  that 
the  hand  is  likely  to  be  caught  and  crushed,  although  there  is  not 


WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  285 

the  danger  of  very  serious  accidents,  such  as  occur  in  mangling. 
With  the  exception  of  the  shirt  and  collar  dampeners,  all  the  ma- 
chines mentioned  have  unprotected  hot  surfaces,  and  daily  injuries 
from  burns  occur  in  all  steam  laundries. 

It  has  already  been  noted  that  the  majority  of  the  operations 
.are  performed  standing,  and  the  specific  effects  from  long  stand- 
ing upon  women  are  well  known.  Women  who  stand  all  day  are 
subject  to  numerous  pelvic  disorders,  and  this  is  particularly  the 
case  among  workers  in  the  laundry  trade.  The  women  also  suffer 
from  varicose  veins,  swollen  feet  and  flat  foot  and  a  large  propor- 
tion wear  rubber  stockings  and  bind  their  feet  with  plaster. 
Diseases  resulting  from  undue  physical  exertion  appear  to  be 
confined  to  hand  starchers,  hand  ironers  and  operators  of  treadle 
machines.  The  effects  on  the  workers  of  starching  and  ironing 
are  much  the  same,  although  ironing  is  the  more  difficult  opera- 
tion —  pains  in  the  back  and  side  and  paraesthesia  of  the  finger 
tips.  Hand  ironers  in  addition  suffer  from  synovitis  of  the  exten- 
sor muscles  of  the  forearm,  and  diseases  of  the  stomach.  Body 
ironers  suffer  from  displacement  of  the  left  kidney,  in  addition 
to  the  pelvic  disorders  to  which  workers  on  all  treadle  machines 
are  subject.  This  information  is  corroborated  by  evidence  in  the 
United  States  Government  Report  on  Condition  of  Woman  and 
Child  Wage  Earners  in  the  United  States.  (Volume  XII.) 

What  is  Being  Done  in  the  Best  Establishments  to  Remedy  the 
Evils: 

Hoods  over  mangles  connecting  with  exhaust  pipes  are  occasion- 
ally found,  but  there  are  no  provisions  for  the  removal  of  steam, 
other  than  fans  in  the  windows. 

An  effort  is  made  in  most  establishments  so  to  mix  the  gas  with 
air  that  no  leakage  will  be  possible,  but  employers  and  employees 
agree  that  perfect  combustion  cannot  be  attained  in  the  case  of 
roll-ironing  machines.  In  one  laundry  the  body  ironer  was  pro- 
vided with  a  hood  and  vent  pipe,  a  device  required  by  the 
English  law,  which  seemed  very  effective.  The  newer 
makes  of  collar-ironing  machines  are  heated  by  steam. 
Gas  heated  machines  should  be  prohibited  unless  provided  witlh 
hoods  and  vents.  Irons  should  be  heated  by  electricity.  All 
machinery  should  be  guarded,  as  indicated  in  the  paragraph  on 


WOMEN  WORKERS  ix  FACTORIES. 

dangerous  elements  in  the  trade.  Hours  of  labor  should  be  lim- 
ited to  eight  No  women  should  be  allowed  to  stand  more  than  six 
hours.  Seats  should  be  adjusted  to  machines  wherever  possible. 

4.     PAPER  Box  TRADE. 

New  York  and  Buffalo  are  the  two  centers  for  the  paper  box 
trade  in  the  State.  The  largest  establishments  investigated  were 
in  Buffalo,  where  one  firm  has  three  different  factories,  employ- 
ing over  2,000  workers.  Most  of  the  boxes  of  well-known  brands 
of  cigarettes,  such  as  the  Schinasi,  Mogul,  Pall  Mall,  etc.,  are 
made  in  these  factories. 

Condition  of  Work  Places: 

Seventeen  per  cent  of  the  establishments  inspected  were  located 
in  special  factories.  A  few  of  the  up-State  factories  were  model 
establishments,  with  efficient  ventilating  systems,  ample  washing 
and  dressing  rooms,  and  special  lunch  and  rest  rooms.  Nineteen 
per  cent  of  the  shops,  a  comparatively  large  proportion,  were 
extremely  clean,  and  only  nine  per  cent  very  dirty. 

Processes  of  Manufacture: 

The  principle  operations  in  the  trade  are  cutting  (grinding  or 
scoring),  folding,  pasting,  corner-cutting  and  corner  staying, 
"  filling  in "  and  "  collaring."  Not  all  these  operations  are 
necessary  for  making  every  kind  of  box  —  in  making  cartons,  for 
example,  cutting,  scoring  and  folding  are  the  only  needful  oper- 
ations, and  in  making  pill-boxes,  the  paper,  cardboard  and  glue  go 
into  an  automatic  machine  which  turns  out  boxes  and  covers 
complete. 

While  there  is  a  good  deal  of  hand  work  in  the  trade,  and 
while  the  finest  grades  of  fancy  candy  and  flower  boxes  are  made 
by  hand,  machine  work  is  increasing.  There  are  a  great  many 
different  types  of  machines  in  use  now;  die-presses  for  printing 
cartons,  cutting,  scoring  and  grinding  machines;  the  Knowlton- 
Beach  corner-stayers  and  corner-cutters ;  "  collaring  machines  " 
for  lining  cigarette  boxes,  automatic  machines  and  many  other 
types  —  some  of  foreign  and  some  of  domestic  manufacture.  Men 


WOME.N  WORKERS  IK  FACTORIES.  287 

are  employed  sometimes  to  do  the  corner-staying  and  cutting, 
out  women  and  igirls  frequently  operate  these,  as  well  as  the 
collaring  and  automatic  machines. 

Dangerous  Elements  in  the  Trade: 

A  real  danger  to  the  workers  comes  from  the  use  of  these 
machines.  The  Knowlton-Beach  corner-stayer  is  responsible  for 
many  crushed  and  broken  fingers,  and  no  really  safe  guard  seems 
yet  to  have  been  devised.  The  workers  complain  that  the  present 
type  of  guard  is  apt  to  catch  the  fingers  when  working  quickly. 
.Some  firms  provide  iron  thimbles,  but  these  are  clumsy  and  do 
not  always  prevent  accidents. 

,  The  corner-cutting,  filling-in  and  collaring  machines  also  have 
their  quota  of  accidents.  In  one  shop  employing  about  800  work- 
ers, the  inspector  counted  seven  girls  with  bandaged  hands;  one 
girl  had  lost  three  weeks'  work  through  crushed  fingers  caught 
jn  a  corner-staying  machine.  In  another  smaller  shop  the  foreman 
.showed  his  own  hand,  with  the  two  joints  of  his  two  first  fingers 
.missing,  saying,  "  You  aren't  a  boxmaker  until  you  get  that  trade 
mark." 

The  collaring  machines  are  similar  in  operation  to  the  familiar 
punch-press,  but  are  not  so  heavy,  and  consequently  the  accidents 
are  not  so  serious.  They  are  set  in  motion  by  a  lever  controlled 
by  the  foot,  and  as  the  work  is  paid  by  the  piece,  the  operators, 
usually  the  youngest  girls,  ofter  attaan  a  high  rate  of  speed. 
Every  now  and  then  the  machine  sticks,  the  worker  quickly  slips 
in  her  hand,  forgets  that  her  foot  is  on  the  lever  and  down  comes 
the  press.  One  Buffalo  manufacturer  said  that  he  had  had  so 
many  accidents  that  he  had  installed  clutches  on  a  level  with 
the  press  instead  of  the  foot  lever,  so  that  the  workers'  hands 
were  perforce  occupied  while  the  press  was  in  motion.  He  said 
that  the  output  per  day  was  not  quite  so  great,  but  that  the  clutch 
completely  did  away  with  the  possibility  of  accident.  The  die- 
presses  used  in  some  large  factories  are  also  dangerous.  The  girl 
operators  stand  at  their  \vork,  removing  and  inserting  the  cartons 
every  two  seconds  as  the  presses  automatically  open  and  shut. 
An  instant's  hesitation  may  result  in  a  serious  accident.  No  guards 
were  found  on  any  of  the  presses  inspected.  In  one  shop  girls 


288  WU.MKN   WORKERS  ix  FACTORIES. 

were  at  work  feeding  glued  cartons  between  high-speed  rollers; 
three  of  these  machines  were  "  guarded "  with  bars  so  high  above 
the  rollers  that  they  were  practically  useless.  The  fourth  machine 
had  not  even  this  "  guard ;  "  the  superintendent  said  he  intended 
to  provide  one,  but  had  been  too  busy  since  the  firm  had  moved. 
This  moving  proved  to  have  taken  place  several  months  previous, 
during  which  time  the  machine  had  been  running  completely 
unguarded. 

In  very  few  shops  was  the  belting  sufficiently  guarded.  In  a 
trade  employing  such  a  large  number  of  women  and  young  girls 
this  ought  to  be  mandatory.  A  factory  may  be  "  lucky,"  but 
the  possibility  of  an  apron  string,  the  edge  of  a  skirt  or  a  hair 
ribbon  catching  in  the  pulleys  is  always  present.  It  is  significant 
that  in  the  two  factories  where  the  guarding  was  most  thorough, 
there  had  been  bad  accidents.  But  why  wait  for  the  accident? 

5.     TEXTILE  MILLS  IN  UTICA. 

Utica  is  the  knit  goods  center  of  the  United  States.  According 
to  a  statement  issued  by  the  Utica  Chamber  of  Commerce,  twenty- 
one  mills,  employing  a  total  of  six  thousand  people,  do  a  business 
of  over  $20,000,000  a  year.  Underwear,  sweaters,  caps,  hosiery 
and  infants'  furnishings  are  produced.  Seven  establishments  were 
visited,  employing  nearly  1,500  workers  altogether. 

Description  of  Process: 

The  several  processes  are  winding,  knitting,  napping,  washing 
and  dyeing,  cutting  and  making-up.  Both  men  and  women  are 
employed  in  the  process  of  winding.  The  winder  stands  all  day 
watching  from  sixteen  to  twenty-five  bobbins,  ready  to  tie  up  a 
broken  thread,  and  on  the  lookout  for  any  hitch  in  the  mechanism. 
Men  are  more  generally  employed  as  knitters,  although  women 
seem  able  to  do  the  work  as  well.  The  duty  of  a  knitter  is  to  watch 
an  allotted  number  of  cylinders,  as  the  knitting  machines  are 
called,  and  like  the  winder,  be  continually  on  the  lookout  for 
broken  threads.  In  one  factory  the  cylinders  extend  from  the  first 
to  the  third  floor,  while  in  another  the  cylinders,  about  four  feet 
in  height,  are  placed  on  long  tables.  Each  knitter  tends  six  cyl- 


WOMEJN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  289 

inders,  and  connected  with  each  cylinder  are  six  bobbins  which 
makes  a  total  of  thirty-six  threads  to  be  accounted  for.  In  this 
factory  seats  are  provided  for  the  knitters,  but  it  is 
rarely  possible  for  them  to  sit  down.  The  operation  of 
napping  is  invariably  performed  by  men.  The  material  is  put 
through  a  machine  built  somewhat  like  a  laundry  mangle  which 
has  the  effect  of  raising  the  nap  on  the  right  side.  It  is  usual  to 
send  the  goods  out  to  be  washed  and  dyed,  but  one  of  the  fac- 
tories visited  has  a  special  department  for  washing  and  dyeing. 
The  operation  of  cutting,  for  which  men  are  employed,  is  per- 
formed by  means  of  a  cutting  machine  similar  to  that  used  in  the 
garment  trades.  For  making-up,  women  are  almost  invariably 
employed,  the  processes  being  practically  the  same  as  in  the  gar- 
ment trades  except  that  less  skill  is  required  and  the  machines 
are  consequently  geared  up  to  make  from  thirty  to  forty  thou- 
sand stitches  a  minute.  A  foreman  told  the  investigator  that  the 
average  is  thirty-five  thousand  stitches  a  minute.  Women  are 
also  employed  as  folders  and  inspectors,  and  at  this  work  they 
stand  all  day. 

Dangerous  Elements  in  the  Trade: 

The  specific  danger  in  knitting  mills  is  the  presence  of  cotton 
and  woolen  dust  in  the  air,  which  is  particularly  objectionable 
in  the  napping  room.  Knitting  is  classed  among  the  dusty  trades, 
and  consumption  is  common  among  employees  of  knitting  mills. 
(Bulletin  No.  79,  United  States  Bureau  of  Labor.)  The  fact  that 
the  women  and  child  operators,  all  on  piece-work,  are  compelled  to 
work  eight  and  ten  hours  a  day,  according  to  age,  on  machines 
geared  up  to  make  as  many  as  forty  thousand  stitches  a  minute 
would  seem  to  constitute  an  even  greater  danger.  Moreover,  the 
continuous  standing  necessary  for  women  winders,  knitters,  in- 
spectors and  folders  is  in  the  highest  degree  destructive  of  health. 

Workers : 

The  majority  of  the  workers  in  the  knitting  mills  are  Ameri- 
can-born.    There  are,  however,  a  number  of  Poles,  Italians  and 
Syrians.     The  sex  of  workers  employed  in  the  various  depart- 
10 


290  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

ments  has  been  noted  in  the  previous  paragraph.  About  seventy- 
five  per  cent  of  the  workers  are  women  and  young  girls,  and  the 
extreme  youth  of  a  number  of  the  operators  is  very  evident. 

Conditions  of  the  Work-Places: 

The  establishments  visited  were  light,  clean  and  well-ventilated. 
Other  factories  presented  the  same  modern  appearance,  and  were 
obviously  so  built  as  to  make  for  good  natural  light  and 
ventilation. 

As  usual  a  sink  and  a  cold-water  spigot  constitute  the  washing 
facilities.  The  toilets  are  far  above  the  average  in  cleanliness, 
and  nearly  all  of  them  have  windows  to  the  outer  air.  The  em- 
ployees generally  eat  their  lunch  in  the  shop,  and  no  special  lunch 
rooms  are  provided. 

Electricity  is  used  in  all  establishments.  In  two  finishing 
rooms  mercury  light  is  used  in  addition  to  electricity.  In  the 
latter  case  there  seems  to  be  no  necessity  for  protection  from 
glare,  but  the  operators  in  two  factories  work  by  unshaded 
electric  lights.  The  proportion  of  workers  wearing  glasses  is 
very  large. 

As  already  stated,  the  natural  ventilation  is  good,  though  only 
one  work-room  was  provided  with  an  exhaust  fan  or  any  form  of 
forced  ventilation. 

Hours  and  Wages: 

The  hours  throughout  the  trade  are  from  seven  to  six,  making 
a  total  of  sixty  hours  a  week.  When  the  factories  close  at  five 
on  Saturday,  they  make  up  the  lost  hour  by  taking  ten  minutes 
from  the  lunch  hour.  As  to  the  extent  of  overtime,  in  one  factory, 
the  foreman  said  that  the  workers  sometimes  stayed  until  eight 
o'clock.  As  work  is  paid  almost  entirely  by  the  piece,  it  is  fair 
to  assume  that  the  full  fifty  minutes  for  lunch  is  not  taken. 

What  is  Being  Done  in  the  Best  Establishments  to  Remedy  the 
Evils: 

In  one  of  the  establishments  inspected  suction  pipes  are  placed 
underneath  the  napping  machines.  In  another  exhaust  fans  are 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  291 

provided  in  the  main  knitting  room,  and  humidifiers  in  the  knit- 
ting and  winding  room.  With  regard  to  the  other  evils,  nothing  is 
being  done  to  remedy  them. 

If  the  factories  inspected  are  typical,  the  workers  do 
not  suffer  greatly  on  the  whole  from  bad  sanitary  conditions. 
They  do  suffer  from  the  difficult  and  exacting  character  of  the 
work,  from  speeding  up,  from  the  length  of  the  working  week,  and 
from  the  lowness  of  the  wages  paid. 

6.     MEN'S  CLOTHING  TRADE  IN  ROCHESTER. 
General  Character  of  Trade: 

Rochester  is  one  of  the  four  great  centers  for  men's  ready-made 
clothing,  approximately  3,504  men  and  2,528  women  being  em- 
ployed in  the  industry,  according  to  the  census  of  1905.  The 
goods  manufactured  are  all  of  a  high  grade,  i.  e.,  no  suits  are  made 
which  sell  at  retail  for  less  than  $15.00.  The  "  inside  "  shop 
system  is  more  highly  developed  than  in  other  clothing  centers, 
although  it  is  generally  estimated  that  two-thirds  of  the  work  is 
done  in  contract  shops.  The  relation  of  the  "  inside  shop  "  to  the 
"  outside  shop,"  or  contract  shop,  is  peculiar  to  Rochester,  the 
contractor  doing  work  for  one  firm  only  year-in  and  year-out. 
As  is  usual  in  this  industry,  there  is  a  great  deal  of  home  work 
done,  principally  felling  and  finishing.  Most  of  the  "  outside  " 
shops  give  out  their  finishing  and  some  of  the  "  inside  "  shops,  as 
well. 

The  Workers: 

The  majority  of  the  workers  are  American-born  and  of  for- 
eign extraction.  Of  the  foreign-born  women,  41.6  per  cent  are 
Italians,  28.5  per  cent  are  Germans.  (Vol.  2,  Report  on  Con- 
dition of  Women  and  Child  Wage  Earners  in  the  U.  S.)  Of  the 
men,  the  cutters  are  for  the  most  part  of  German  extraction. 
Women  constitute  nearly  two-fifths  of  the  workers.  The  average 
age  of  both  men  and  women  would  be  between  thirty  and  thirty- 
five.  With  regard  to  the  general  appearance,  their  paleness  and 


292  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

nervousness  is  very  noticeable.     A  large  portion  of  them  wear 
glasses. 

Condition  of  the  Workers: 

The  floors  were  very  dirty  in  twenty  of  the  thirty  factories 
inspected,  although  the  cutting  room  was  generally  in  good  condi- 
tion. The  toilets  in  general  were  neglected,  nine  establishments 
having  very  dirty  water  closet  apartments,  and1  fourteen  or  more 
no  windows  to  outer  air. 

With  ten  exceptions,  all  the  factories  were  using  artificial  light 
—  generally  electricity  —  when  inspected.  The  inspection,  how- 
ever, was  made  on  very  dark  days.  All  operators  worked  by 
completely  shaded  electric  lights,  except  in  outside  shops,  where 
unshaded  gas  burners  were  in  use.  The  natural  lighting  is  so 
good  in  these  shops  that  the  workmen  do  not  need  artificial 
light  except  in  the  early  morning  and  at  night.  The  bad  lighting 
in  the  case  of  "  fellers  "  has  already  been  noted. 

The  air  is  not  noticceably  bad  except  in  the  outside  shops,  but 
in  only  two  cases  was  there  forced  ventilation,  in  one  factory  a 
system  of  forcing  in  hot  air. 

Processes  in  the  Trade: 

The  principal  processes  are  cutting,  machine  operating,  fell- 
ing and  pressing.  The  cutters  arc  invariably  men,  and  the  opera- 
tion is  performed  by  means  of  a  heavy  knife,  which  is  worked  by 
power,  a  number  of  thicknesses  of  material  being  cut  at  once. 
The  sewing  machines  are  also  worked  by  power,  which  the  operator 
regulates  by  foot  pressure.  The  machine  most  generally  in  use, 
No.  31-15,  makes  twenty-two  hundred  stitches  a  minute;  another 
machine  in  general  use,  No.  31-35,  makes  eighteen  hundred 
stitches  a  minute,  and  No.  122-W.-1,  a  double-needle  machine 
and  the  most  difficult  of  operation,  makes  seventeen  hundred  stitches 
a  minute.  These  figures  are  of  course  approximations.  Many 
factors  affect  the  number  of  stitches  averaged  by  an  operator, 
such  as  the  size  of  tlhe  stitch,  the  length  of  the  seam,  the  grade  of 
work,  etc.,  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  lay  down  any  hard  and  fast 
rule.  Foremen  and  employees  invariably  say  that  absolute 


WOMEJST  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  293 

concentration  of  the  eyes  on  the  point  of  the  needle  is 
necessary  on  the  part  of  the  operator.  The  fellers  and 
finishers  sew  by  hand  and  at  a  very  great  speed.  These 
perform  whatever  hand  work  may  be  required  on  the  gar- 
ments. The  pressers  do  their  work  by  means  of  a  gas-heated 
iron.  Their  equipment  differs  in  the  various  shops.  It  is  usual 
for  the  garment  to  be  forced  against  the  hot  surface  by  the  iron 
from  below,  the  presser  bearing  down  on  a  treadle  with  all  the 
weight  of  his  body.  The  gas  used  to  heat  the  irons  of  the  pressers 
is  liable  to  escape  by  leakage  or  noncombustion,  and  to  vitiate 
the  air  of  the  room.  Carbon  monoxide  poisoning  causes  head- 
ache, sore  eyes,  dizziness  and  nausea,  as  well  as  a  general  con- 
dition of  anaemia.  Fellers  or  finishers  appear  to  suffer  from 
eyestrain,  judging  from  the  great  number  who  wear  eyeglasses. 
Almost  all  of  them  were  placed  away  from  the  windows  and  had 
to  depend  for  light  on  unshaded,  or  partially  shaded  electric  lights. 
A  great  deal  of  felling  is  done  in  the  homes.  (See  Vol.  IT,  Report 
on  Condition  of  Woman  and  Child  Wage  Earners  in  the  United 
States.) 
Dangerous  Elements: 

Operators  suffer  from  the  system  of  speeding  up.  The  rate 
at  which  machines  are  run  has  already  been  noted,  as  well  as  the 
concentration  required.  Headache,  eyestrain  and  neurasthenia 
are  the  results  of  these  conditions.  Garment  workers  are,  as  a 
rule,  anaemic.  In  all  the  factories  visited  with  two  or  three 
exceptions  fuzzy  dust  was  found  on  the  floors  in  all  operating 
rooms,  and  in  most  cases  piled  up  under  the  machines.  The  hours 
are  from  seven  to  six,  with  an  hour  for  lunch,  and  four  to  five 
hours  on  Saturday,  and  it  is  probable  that  at  certain  times  of  the 
yoar  the  majority  of  the  factories  work  overtime.  Vol.  2  of  the 
United  States  government  investigation  of  conditions  of  women 
and  child  wage-earners  in  the  United  States  shows  that  sixteen 
out  of  twenty-five  Rochester  clothing  factories  were  found  work- 
ing overtime. 

v.   THE  WORK  DONE  BY  WOMEN  IN  FACTORIES. 

A  great  deal  of  hard,  laborious  and  physically  exhausting  work 
is  still  done  by  women.  The  work  done  by  women  in  laundries 
is  typical  of  such  trades.  In  trades  where  women  work  more  or 


294  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

less  in  competition  with  men,  their  work  is  apt  to  be  heavy  and 
hard,  and  to  be  performed  under  the  most  difficult  conditions. 
Two  foundries  where  women  coremakers  are  employed  were  in- 
spected. The  work  is  dirty  and  disagreeable,  and  is  done  standing 
in  excessively  hot  atmosphere.  The  traya  of  cores,  which  must 
be  lifted  by  the  women,  weigh  sometimes  as  much  as  80  pounds. 
These  two  foundries  work  a  ten-hour  day.  No  provision  is  made 
for  the  comfort  or  convenience  of  the  women. 

In  a  large  meat-packing  plant  employing  at  times  over  one 
hundred  women,  the  women  in  the  trimming  and  sausage  rooms 
work  side  by  side  with  the  men  who  set  the  pace  for  the  work. 
They  stand  at  their  work  all  day  on  floors  covered  with  water 
and  slime.  Most  of  them  wear  heavy  rubber  boots,  which  they 
had  to  provide  themseves  to  keep  their  feet  dry.  Only  Polish  and 
German  girls  were  employed,  as  American  women  could  not  stand 
the  hard  work  and  long  hours  on  their  feet. 

This  continual  standing  is  one  of  the  worst  features  of  a  large 
part  of  the  work  done  by  women  in  factories.  Much  of  it  is  quite 
unnecessary  and  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  both  the  manage- 
ment and  inspection  of  factories  are  usually  in  the  hands  of  men 
who  are  apt  to  be  ignorant  or  careless  of  the  effect  on  women  of 
prolonged  standing.  Many  processes  which  now  require  the  worker 
to  stand  could  be  easily  adapted  to  a  sitting  posture.  The  practice 
varies  in  different  establishments  in  the  same  industry.  One  man- 
ufacturer will  state  emphatically  that  such  and  such  a  process 
cannot  be  carried  on  if  the  workers  sit,  and  perhaps  in  a  shop  a 
few  blocks  away  the  workers  will  be  found  comfortably  seated  at 
the  same  process.  Even  in  branches  of  industry  where  constant 
sitting  is  not  possible,  such  as  loom-tending,  carding  and  winding 
in  textile  mills,  seats  can  be  provided  near  at  hand  where  the 
woman  worker  can  take  occasional  moments'  rest  while  work  is 
running  smoothly.  The  law  requires  the  provision  of  seats  for 
women  in  factories,  but  compliance  with  the  law  is  unusual. 

Most  of  the  work  done  by  women  in  factories,  however,  is  in- 
jurious to  health,  not  so  much  on  its  physical  side,  but  on  account 
of  the  nervous  strain  involved  in  the  extreme  monotony  of  the 
processes  and  the  speed  with  which  they  are  carried  on.  Modern 


WOMELN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  295 

industry  has  been  developed  chiefly  by  men  for  men.  Newer  and 
faster  machines  are  continually  being  introduced.  In  the  clothing 
industry  women  operate  machines  that  take  from  1,500  to  2,000 
stitches  a  minute.  In  the  paper  box  trade  girls  will  "  stay  "  or 
'*  fill-in  "  upwards  of  2,000  boxes  a  day,  involving  over  4,000 
pressures  with  the  foot.  Automatic  die-presses  open  and  close 
every  two  seconds,  and  within  this  time  the  woman  worker  must 
remove  the  printed  sheet  and  insert  a  fresh  one.  In  the  knitting 
mills  of  Utica,  machines  take  3,500  stitches  a  minute.  Unlimited 
,-pred  and  unlimited  production  is  the  manufacturer's  dream,  but 
modern  machine  production  is  taking  no  account  of  the  strain 
upon  women  workers  of  long  hours  at  such  monotonous  and  nerve- 
wracking  work  in  destroying  their  health,  and  thus  lowering  the 
efficiency  of  future  generations  of  workers. 

VI.     HOURS  OF  LABOE. 

Although  for  the  reasons  noted  above  a  detailed  study  was  not 
made  of  the  most  important  of  all  factors  affecting  the  health  of 
women  workers, —  the  daily  and  weekly  hours  of  labor  —  the  in- 
vest igators  were  able  to  gain  much  incidental  information  from 
both  workers  and  employers  in  factories  in  Xew  York  city  and 
elsewhere. 

The  regular  hours  of  labor  of  women  in  factories  up-State  are 
undoubtedly  longer  than  in  factories  in  New  York  city.  The 
sixty-hour  week  and  ten-hour  day  are  the  rule.  Only  two  fac- 
tories were  noted  where  the  regular  working  hours  were  as  low 
as  fifty-four  per  week.  The  working-day  usually  begins  at  seven 
or  seven-thirty,  and  ends  at  five-thirty  or  six,  with  from  half  an 
hour  to  an  hour  for  luncheon.  In  one  large  textile  mill  the  work- 
ing day  began  at  6 :30  A.  M.  and  continued  until  6  :15  P.  M.  with 
forty-five  minutes  for  lunch.  This  meant  for  the  worker  almost 
twelve  hours  inside  the  factory,  daily,  and  a  working  time  of 
eleven  hours.  The  owners  of  this  establishment  kept  within  the 
eixty  hours  legal  limit  by  stopping  work  at  noon  on  Saturdays. 
In  this  mill  the  inspector  found  a  pale  young  girl  leaning  against 
the  wall  for  a  moment's  rest,  and  inquired  whether  she  did  not 
find  it  a  rather  long  day.  "It's  an  awful  long  day,"  she  sighed, 
and  when  told  that  many  legislators  in  the  State  were  trying  to 


296  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

shorten  the  daily  hours  of  work,  she  said,  emphatically,  "  Well, 
they  just  can't  do  it  quick  enough  for  me." 

In  the  districts  where  the  workers  live,  the  streets  are  empty 
and  the  houses  dark  by  nine  at  nigjht;  — "  help  wash  the  dishes 
and  go  to  bed ;"  "  go  to  bed  right  after  supper,  too  tired  to  go  out ;" 
."  tried  going  to  night  school,  but  was  too  tired  to  study ;" 
u  sometimes  go  out  Saturday  nights,  but  would  rather  go  to  bed; — 
these  are  some  of  the  answers  given  by  the  girls  when  asked 
what  they  did  in  the  evenings.  On  Sundays  a  working  woman 
must  wash  and  mend  her  clothes  and  frequently  those  of  the  men 
folk  of  the  family.  To  keep  her  health  that  she  may  continue 
just  to  labor  sixty  hours  a  week,  at  unremitting  monotonous  toil, 
the  girl  worker  must  ,give  up  that  social  life  and  recreation  so 
eagerly  desired  and  so  necessary  for  youth,  must  put  aside  the 
yearning  to  read  and  know,  which  is  often  just  as  keen  as  a  desire 
for  pleasure.  If  by  these  means  the  woman  worker  keeps  her 
health,  what  preparation  is  such  a  life  for  the  varied  duties  of 
wifehood  or  motherhood,  and  what  wonder  that  most  workers  re- 
fuse to  make  this  choice. 

Ten  hours  a  day  is  of  course  exclusive  of  time  for  meals.  Where 
one  hour  for  lunch  is  allowed,  'the  worker  spends  eleven  hours-  a 
day  inside  the  factory.  Many  women  workers  are  unable  to  live 
near  their  work,  and  must  allow  from  half  an  hour  to  an  hour  to 
go  to  and  from  the  factory.  A  ten-hour  day  means  for  most 
women  workers  12  or  13  hours  away  from  home. 

In  New  York  city,  while  the  regular  hours  of  labor  are  ap- 
parently shorter,  long  periods  of  overtime  eat  up  the  seeming 
gain.  Shops  that  have  posted  58,  56,  54,  or  51  hours  a  week  may 
have  overtime  which  brings  them  up  to  and  beyond  the  sixty- 
hour  mark  from  four  to  six  months  a  year.  In  shops  in  which 
overtime  is  permitted,  too,  it  is  extremely  easy  for  employers  to 
violate  the  law,  and,  as  inspectors  of  the  Department  of  Labor  have 
testified,  almost  impossible  to  get  convictions.  Girls  who  have 
kept  account  of  their  hours  in  the  busy  season  at  rush  time  in  the 
laundry,  clothing,  artificial  flower  and  printing  trades  find  that 
they  have  frequently  worked  sixty-two  to  eighty-one  hours  per 
week,  and  ten  to  fifteen  hours  a  day.  In  the  artificial  flower  in- 
dustry, according  to  the  study  made  by  the  Committee  on  Women's 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  297 

Work  of  the  Russell  Sage  Foundation,  while  only  7  per  cent  of 
the  74  firms  investigated  had  regular  working  hours  of  more  than 
fifty-four,  63  per  cent  had  overtime,  ranging  from  55  to  72  hours 
per  week.  Women  who  work  in  trades  where  there  is  much  over- 
time agree  that  no  amount  of  slack  time  later  on  makes  up  for 
the  exhaustion  consequent  to  the  long  day  of  12  to  14  hours. 
Miss  Josephine  Goldmark,  who  has  made  a  splendid  study  of  the 
effect  of  long  hours  on  women's  physique,  testified  before  the 
Commission  on  December  20,  1911,  "  Overtime  work  is  in- 
jurious to  health  because  it  means  work  after  the  physical  organ- 
ism is  overtired.  No  money  can  repair  the  wasted  energy  that 
the  organism  suffers  from  overtime." 

Many  employers  seriously  object  to  overtime  and  state  that  it 
does  not  pay  in  the  end.  If  a  girl  works  till  nine  or  ten  one  night 
her  output  the  next  day  falls  off  correspondingly.  These  employ- 
ers would  welcome  a  limitation  of  the  daily  hours  of  work  which 
would  bear  upon  all  manufacturers  alike.  The  New  York  State 
law,  permitting  overtime  regularly  and  irregularly,  is  the  only 
law  of  its  kind  in  the  United  States  without  a  flat  limit  to  the 
daily  hours  of  work.  Most  serious  of  all,  it  is  practically  impos- 
sible to  prove  violations  or.  the  sixty-hour  law,  which  for  this  reason 
is  not  enforced  in  the  very  trades  where  women  most  need  its 
protection.  The  limitation  of  daily  hours  of  work  is  the  only 
logical  corollary  of  the  limitation  of  the  hours  of  the  working  week. 

That  regular  working  hours  of  ten  per  day,  six  days  in  the 
week,  and  the  irregular  working  hours  ranging  from  nine  to  four- 
teen per  day,  are  bound  under  the  best  condtions  to  injure  the 
health,  lower  the  vitality,  and  eventually  shorten  the  life  of  the 
average  woman  worker,  even  though  her  weekly  hours  do  not  ex- 
ceed sixty,  does  not  require  elaborate  proof.  At  every  hearing  of 
the  Commission  physicians,  health  officers,  trade-union  members 
and  others  testified  from  practical  experience  to  the  injuries  to 
women's  physique  and  nervous  system  of  long  hours  and  overtime. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester,  a  physician  with  twenty-seven 
years'  experience  both  in  private  practice  and  in  connection 
with  the  Buffalo  General  Hospital  and  County  Hospital, 
stated  at  the  hearing  of  the  Commission  held  in  Buffalo: 
"  I  am  firmly  in  favor  of  the  eight-hour  labor  law  myself 


298  WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES. 

(for  the  working  women).  I  think  it  ought  to  be  enforced 
very  firmly.  The  eight-hour  law  is  proper  and  ought  to  be 
compulsory." 

Dr.  George  Goler,  a  practising  physician  for  twenty-two 
years,  and  health  officer  of  the  city  of  Buffalo,  testified  be- 
fore the  Commission :  "  Speeding  up  is  very  detrimental  to 
the  health  of  the  worker.  The  faster  you  speed1  up  the  organ- 
ism the  sooner  you  wear  it  out.  No  woman  should  be  em- 
ployed more  than  six  hours  in  any  one  day." 

Dr.  Wood  Hutchinson,  of  New  York,  testified  that  "  One 
of  the  most  important  measures  to  prevent  tuberculosis  among 
factory  workers  would  be  the  reduction  of  hours  of  labor. 
If  the  worker  only  worked  eight  hours  a  day,  he  or  she  would 
be  able  to  keep  in  good,  vigorous  condition  to  resist  the 
attack  of  the  disease.  The  weekly  hours  of  labor  of  women 
in  factories  should  not  be  in  excess  of  forty-eight." 

Louise  Stritt,  Secretary  of  the  Garment-Makers'  Union 
of  Utica,  and  a  garment  worker  herself,  testified  at  the 
Utica  hearing  of  the  Commission :  "We  are  in  favor  of  forty 
eight  hours  a  week,  eight  hours  a  day,  for  women  workers." 

Dr.  Angeline  M'artine,  practicing  physician  of  Utica,  with 
a  large  practice  among  the  working  women,  stated  before 
the  Commission  that  "  Many  diseases  of  working  women  are 
attributable  to  long  hours.  I  would  favor  forty-eight  hours 
a  week  for  women." 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley,  Secretary  of  the  National  Con- 
sumers' League,  said,  in  her  testimony  before  the  Commis- 
sion :  "  The  present  New  York  law  for  women  is  not  en- 
forcible  and  is  illusory,  and  therefore  demoralizing  to  all 
concerned.  The  working-day  for  women  and  minors  should 
not  exceed  ten  hours  in  any  case;  the  working  week  should 
be  limited  to  fifty-four  hours  with  the  option  of  nine  hours 
on  six  days,  or  ten  hours  on  five  days  and  four  hours  on 
Saturday.  This,  however,  is  an  immediate  step  merely,  on 
the  way  towards  a  working  week  of  forty-eight  hours  and  a 
working-day  of  eight  hours  for  women  and  minors." 

MisaMelinda  Scott,  President  of  the  United  Hat  Trimmers 
of  New  York  and  Newark,  representing  the  Legislative  Com- 
mittee of  the  Women's  Trade  Union  League,  said :  "  We 
recommend  a  bill  limiting  the  working  hours  of  women  to 
forty-eight  per  week.  The  bill  should  also  shorten  the  period 


WOMEN  WORKERS  IN  FACTORIES.  299 

during  which  the  factory  may  remain  open,  otherwise  the 
law  is  a  dead  letter  and  cannot  be  enforced." 

From  these  statements,  taken  in  connection  with  the  facts,  it 
is  evident  that  the  reduction  of  the  hours  of  labor  of  working 
women  is  a  very  practical  and  immediate  necessity,  and  one  that 
becomes  more  urgent  every  day,  with  the  continued  introduction 
of  new  and  speedier  machines,  increasing  intensity  of  modern  pro- 
duction, and  the  correspondingly  greater  strain  which  is  put  upon 
the  worker.  It  will  be  useless  to  investigate  the  effect  of  special 
processes  or  unsanitary  shops  on  the  health  of  women  workers 
as  long  as  such  hours  prevail  in  all  industries  alike.  With  long 
hours  and  overtime,  work  can  be  injurious  though  carried  on  in 
an  industrial  palace,  provided  with  special  wash  rooms  and  lunch 
rooms  and  adorned  with  Perry  prints.  With  shorter  weekly  hours 
and  a  normal  working-day,  the  present  unhealthfulness  of  many 
trades  will  diminish.  We  shall  then  be  in  a  better  way  to  deter- 
mine, apart  from  questions  of  duration,  what  trades  or  processes 
are  specially  injurious  to  the  woman  worker,  and  to  act  accord- 
ingly with  intelligence  and  promptitude. 


APPENDIX    V 


NOTES  ON  AN  INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A 

SELECTED  AREA  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

WITH     RESPECT    TO    SANITARY 

CONDITIONS    IN    THE 

FACTORIES 

By  PAULINE  GOL.DMARK,  Associate  Director,  New  York  School 

of  Philanthropy. 


INDUSTRIES  INVESTIGATED 

PAGE 

Pianos 314 

Printing,  Binding  and  Paper  Goods 322 

Metals 325 

Furs,  etc 331 

Wood  Manufactures 337 

Laundries 338 

( 'andy  and  Food  Products 345 

Bakeries 349 

Garments  and  Textiles 355 

Stone,  Clay  and  Glass 355 

Mineral  and  Soda  Water 356 

Dyeing  and  Cleaning 358 

Toilet  Preparations  and  Chemicals 361 

Breweries 361 

Rags 362 


NOTES    ON    AN    INDUSTRIAL    SURVEY    OF    A 

SELECTED  AREA  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY  WITH 

RESPECT  TO  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN 

THE  FACTORIES 

Prepared  by  PAULINE  GOLDMARK,  Associate  Director  of 
of  the  School  of  Philanthropy,  in  charge  of  the 
Bureau  of  Social  Research,  with  the  co-operation  of 
KATHARINE  S.  ANTHONY,  MARIE  S.  ORENSTEIN,  DOR- 
OTHY B.  KIECHWEY,  CLINTON  S.  GUILDS  and  W. 
SCOTT  BOYCE,  Fellows  of  the  Bureau  of  Social  Re- 
search; two  volunteers,  LAWRENCE  K.  FRANK,  a  stu- 
dent in  Columbia  College,  and  HARRY  M.  BREMER,  a 
student  in  the  New  York  School  of  Philanthropy, 
gave  substantial  assistance. 


This  report  deals  with  conditions  affecting  10,000  factory  work- 
ers in  a  selected  area.  Such  a  comprehensive  district  study  has 
this  advantage  over  an  examination  of  selected  industries  —  that 
it  includes  all  the  factories  whatever  the  trade  or  processes.  The 
conditions  found  may  be  considered  fairly  representative  of  those 
prevailing  throughout  the  city,  since  neither  good  nor  bad  points 
have  been  especially  sought  out. 

The  inspections  for  this  survey  were  made  with  a  view  of  de- 
termining the  sanitary  conditions  as  they  exist  in  the  factories. 
In  making  such  a  study  it  is  important  to  bear  in  mind  that  all 
the  factors  must  be  noted  which  affect  the  health  and  working 
capacity  of  the  individual  employee.  In  other  words,  the  cleanli- 
ness, sanitary  conveniences  and  comforts,  heat,  light,  and  venti- 
lation of  the  premises  are  first  to  be  examined ;  and  further  the 
effect  of  this  environment  upon  the  workers  —  that  is,  the  factory 
hygiene,  must  be  considered.  For  this  purpose  such  factors  as 
exposure  to  heat  and  cold,  sudden  changes  in  temperatures,  hu- 
midity of  the  atmosphere,  eye  strain,  speeding,  standing  and  all 
special  muscular  exertion  should  be  carefully  estimated.  In  this 


DISTRIBUTION  OF  IO&3S 
WORKERS  I riFIFTEETI 
lfHXJ5TRIE5  irtTHE 

WE5T5IDE  DISTRICT 
ACCORDinGTOAGCAPIDSEX. 


93 


INDUSTRIAL  SUKVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA. 


305 


particular  survey,  however,  it  has  not  been  possible  to  give  ade- 
quate consideration  to  all  these  subjects.  Only  in  regard  to  clean- 
liness and  sanitary  conveniences  and  comforts  has  it  been  possible 
to  make  a  full  statistical  statement. 

The  inquiry  covers  the  district  in  the  Middle  West  Side  of  New 
York  city  which  lies  between  Thirty-fourth  and  Fifty-third  streets 
and  extends  from.  Eighth  avenue  to  the  Hudson  River.  All  in- 
dustrial establishments  employing  five  or  more  persons  were  in- 
spected, block  by  block,  excepting  packing  houses,  coal  yards  and 
gas  houses.  In  some  cases  smaller  shops  were  visited  in  order 
to  study  more  completely  the  processes  of  the  industry. 

Fifteen  industries  were  found  located  in  323  establishments, 
employing  10,698  workers,  roughly  divided  as  follows:  78  per 
cent  men,  21  per  cent  women,  .9  per  cent  children.  The  following 
table  gives  the  figures  for  each  industry: 

TABLE  I. 
TOTAL   NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  or  MEN,  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN   CLASSIFIED   ACCORDING  TO 

iNDTJSTRIEa 


INDUSTRY 

Number  of 
Establish- 
ments 

Number 
of 
Men 

Number 
of 
Women 

Number 
of 
Children 

Total 

Per 

cent 

24 

2,727 

146 

49 

2  922 

27  3 

'2   Printing                   

25 

1,355 

858 

32 

2  245 

21  0 

3  Metals  

82 

1,845 

104 

1 

1  950 

18  2 

9 

479 

147 

0 

626 

5  9 

42 

594 

16 

o 

610 

5  7 

14 

133 

465 

3 

601 

5  6 

7  Candies  and  food  products  .  .  . 
8  Bakeries  
9  (iarments  and  textiles  

12 
60 
11 

256 
264 
92 

258 
2 
154 

3 
0 

8 

517 
266 
254 

4.8 
2.5 
2  4 

7 

212 

0 

1 

213 

2  0 

11  Mineral  and  soda  waters  

12 
10 

157 
100 

1 

39 

0 
1 

158 
140 

1.5 
1  3 

13  Toilet  preparations  and  chem- 
icals   

10 

47 

46 

1 

94 

.9 

4 

86 

0 

0 

86 

8 

15  Rags 

1 

8 

8 

o 

16 

1 

Totals           

323 

8,355 

2,244 

99 

10  698 

100 

Per  cent 

78  09 

20  98 

93 

100 

Classifying  these  10,000  workers  according  to  the  chief  occu- 
pations of  the  two  sexes,  it  will  be  seen  that  piano  factories,  print- 
ing shops  and  metal  works  giving  employment  to  71  per  cent  of 
the  men,  while  printing  shops,  laundries  and  candy  makers  are 
the  largest  employers  of  women,  engaging  70  per  cent  of  the  total 
number. 


306         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

Bearing  in  mind  that  this  inquiry  is  to  determine  the  physical 
welfare  of  the  individual  workers,  we  have  sought  to  ascertain 
in  each  case  the  number  of  employees  subjected  to  given  condi- 
tions, distinguishing  by  sex  whenever  practicable.  It  was  found 
that  the  grade  of  facilities  often  varied  greatly  in  different  parts 
of  the  same  establishment.  A  consistent  effort  was  therefore  made 
to  determine  in  each  case  the  respective  number  of  persons  af- 
fected. This  detailed  method  of  recording  takes  more  time  and 
effort  than  a  general  grading  for  the  entire  factory,  but  it  gives 
a  far  more  accurate  picture  of  actual  conditions. 

CLEANLINESS. 

Conditions  were  graded  according  to  rough  working  tests,  which 
will  be  explained  under  separate  heads.  Thus  degrees  of  cleanli- 
ness are  indicated  by  four  grades:  "A,"  meaning  "clean  and 
well-kept;"  "B,"  "fairly  clean;"  "  C,"  "dirty;"  and  "  D," 
"  very  dirty."  The  extremes  could  be  determined  without  diffi- 
culty, but  the  distinction  between  "  fairly  clean  "  and  "  dirty  "  had 
to  be  carefully  weighed.  Between  these  two  grades  lies  the  line 
dividing  the  legal  from  the  illegal  condition,  judged  by  the  re- 
quirements of  the  labor  law. 

In  estimating  the  grade  of  cleanliness  of  shop  rooms,  the  state 
of  floors,  walls  and  ceilings  has  been  considered  in  relation  to  the 
apparent  amount  of  cleaning  done  and  the  efforts  to  remove  ac- 
cumulated dirt.  This  grading  has  not  been  determined  by  the 
presence  of  waste  and  other  products  of  special  processes  unless 
it  appeared  that  the  efforts  to  remove  them  were  entirely  inade- 
quate. In  general  the  work  shops  are  dingy  and  mean  and  sadly 
in  need  of  thorough  scrubbing,  new  paint  or  whitewash.  Of  the 
10,000  workers, 

7%  work  in  clean  and  well-kept  workrooms. 

58 %  work  in  fairly  clean  workrooms. 

31%  work  in  dirty  workrooms. 

4%  work  in  very  dirty  workrooms. 

The  full  table  follows: 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA. 


307 


TABLE  II. 

TOTAL  NUMBER  AND  PER  CENT  OF  MEN,  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  CLASSIFIED  ACCORDING  TO 
GRADE  OF  CLEANLINESS  IN  WORKROOM. 


CLEANLINESS 

Number  of 
Men 

Number  of. 
Women 

Number'ofi 
Children 

Total 
Number 

Per 
Cent 

A.  . 

*    >.246~ 

445 

31 

722 

6.8 

B.  . 

4  751 

1  359 

63 

6,173 

67.7 

C.... 

2  892 

423 

5 

3,320 

31.0 

D  

466 

17 

0 

483 

4.5 

Total  ...    . 

8  355 

2  244 

99 

10,698 

100.0 

1 

SANITAKY  CONVENIENCES  AND  COMFORTS. 
The  condition  of  the  toilets  is  less  satisfactory.  In  grading 
them  for  cleanliness,  the  condition  of  floor,  seat  and  bowl  was 
noted ;  also  the  adequacy  of  the  flush.  The  light  and  ventilation  of 
the  compartment  could  not  be  determined  by  any  strictly  scien- 
tific tests.  k*  Well  ventilated  "  indicates  that  the  air  is  odorless 
and  that  the  compartment  is  supplied  with  air  from  some  other 
source  than  the  workroom  proper.  "  Well  lighted  "  means  that 
the  illumination  is  sufficient  to  enable  one  to  see  all  parts  of  the 
toilet  and  determine  its  cleanliness.  In  a  great  many  cases  the 
inspector  had  to  strike  a  match  or  use  an  electric  flash-light. 

Summarizing  conditions  that  affect  the  men,  it  appears  that 

4.5%  use  A  grade  toilets. 
37.6%  use  B  grade  toilets. 
48.1%  use  0  grade  toilets. 

9.8%  use  D  grade  toilets. 


100.    %  Total. 

In  other  words,   58  per  cent  have   accommodations  that  are 

dirty  or  very  dirty.    In  addition  34  per  cent  have  toilets  that  are 
dark  or  semi-dark. 

The  women  fare  better: 

18.7%   use  A  grade  toilets. 

63.8%  use  B  grade  toilets. 

15.8%   use  C  grade  toilets. 

1.7%  use  D  grade  toilets. 


100.    %  Total. 


308         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

Only  17  per  cent  of  the  women  have  accommodations  that  are 
dirty  or  very  dirty  and  16  per  cent  have  toilets  that  are  dark  or 
semi-dark.  The  plumbing  on  the  whole  is  in  good  condition.  The 
flush  is  insufficient  in  only  a  few  cases. 

It  was  found  that  76  per  cent  of  the  toilets  have  outside 
windows.  This  in  itself  is  no  indication  of  sufficient  ventila- 
tion, as  the  windows  are  sometimes  nailed  up  and  are  often  mere 
slits  opening  on  a  shaft.  Careful  inspection  of  actual  conditions 
shows  that  65  per  cent  of  the  men  and  85  per  cent  of  the  women 
use  toilets  that  are  well  ventilated. 

As  to  the  location  of  the  toilets, 

3.5%  are  in  back  yards. 
9.0%   are  in  halls. 

87.5%   are  in  compartments  or  rooms  connected  with  the 
workrooms. 


100.0%  total. 

The  yard  toilets  belong  principally  to  the  bakeries. 

Five  per  cent  of  the  toilets  are  separated  from  the  workrooms 
by  dwarf  petitions,  that  is  to  say,  the  partitions  do  not  reach  to  the 
ceiling.  In  all  these  cases,  only  men  are  employed. 

As  to  the  separation  of  toilets  for  the  two  sexes,  decency  is  pre- 
served to  some  extent  by  placing  the  apartments  for  men  and 
women  on  different  sides  of  the  workroom,  or,  perhaps,  on  separate 
floors  of  the  establishment.  Ninety  per  cent  of  the  toilets  are  thus 
separated. 

The  arrangement  is  far  less  satisfactory  if  the  closets  for  the  two 
sexes  adjoin,  for  the  partitions  are  not  always  complete  and  suffi- 
cient. Even  if  such  toilets  are  separated  by  solid  partitions,  their 
entrances  are  so  close  together  that  they  can  not  be  effectively 
screened. 

The  number  of  toilets  is  not  always  adequate.  According  to  a 
standard  accepted  in  many  States,  one  toilet  should  be  provided 
for  25  workers.  Yet  15  per  cent  of  the  women  and  3.9  per  cent 
of  the  men  are  working  under  conditions  that  fall  below  this  stand- 
ard. In  4  establishments,  employing  17  men  and  9  women,  both 
sexes  use  the  same  toilet. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.    .          309 

Shops  are  counted  as  having  inadequate  washing  facilities  when 
no  water  at  all  is  supplied  or  only  a  faucet  with  odd  pails  or  tubs, 
when  more  than  20  workers  use  one  basin,  or  when  there  is  no 
towel  supply.  Judged  by  this  standard,  washing  facilities  are 
inadequate  for  67  per  cent  of  all  employees  (bakeries  are  not  in- 
cluded). Hot  water  is  supplied  for  only  24  per  cent  of  the  work- 
ers. These  figures  will  be  more  significant  when  considered  under 
the  separate  trades  which  vary  in  respect  to  the  dirtiness  of  the 
work. 

The  provision  of  some  private  room  for  the  women  is  one  of  the 
essentials  of  decency  in  all  occupations  where  the  women  change 
their  clothes,  beside  being  a  real  necessity  in  case  of  sudden  illness. 
Separate  dressing  rooms  are  rarely  supplied.  Including  in  the 
number  all  rooms  however  small  and  insufficient  for  the  purpose, 
we  find  that  36  per  cent  of  the  women  do  not  have  this  accommoda- 
tion. But  even  if  a  dressing  room  is  supplied,  we  can  not  be  sure 
that  all  the  workers  are  allowed  to  use  the  room.  When  immi- 
grants are  employed  it  is  not  unusual  to  reserve  the  room  for  the 
use  of  the  American  girls  and  prohibit  the  others  from  entering  it. 

A  separate  lunch  room  is  set  apart  in  only  one  factory. 

HEAT,  LIGHT  AND  VENTILATION. 

Methods  of  heating  were  noted  in  all  establishments.  Bakeries 
and  breweries,  however,  are  not  included  in  the  following  table, 
because  the  temperatures  in  bakeries  will  later  be  treated  in  detail, 
and  because  in  breweries  refrigeration  is  essential  to  the  process 
and  calls  for  special  comment. 

91.1%  of  the  employees  work  in  rooms  heated  by  central 

heating  plant  (steam  or  hot  air). 

3.3%  of  the  employees  work  in  rooms  heated  by  stoves. 
4.4%  of  the  employees  work  in  rooms  heated  by  process  of 

manufacture. 
1.2%  of  the  employees  work  in  unheated  rooms. 


100.    %  total. 

Heating  by  means  of  the  process  of  manufacture  occurs  chiefly 
in  the  metal  trades,  and  in  the  laundries.     It  is  obviously  unsatis- 


310         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

factory,  inasmuch  as  it  creates  an  uneven  temperature  —  excessive 
in  some  parts  of  the  room  and  deficient  in  others.  Near  the  drying 
chambers  of  the  laundries,  for  instance,  it  may  be  so  extreme  as  to 
require  special  ventilation  to  reduce  it. 

Figures  on  the  illumination  of  workrooms  are  lacking  because 
of  the  difficulty  of  applying  tests.  In  the  absence  of  exact  and 
practical  standards,  we  have  considered  lighting  inadequate  only 
when  artificial  light  is  used  in  the  daytime.  We  have  thus  con- 
fined ourselves  to  the  most  elementary  tests  of  eye  strain,  and 
applied  it  only  in  the  allied  trades  of  printing  and  binding  that 
require  the  use  of  the  eyes  for  close  work. 

Fresh  air  is  not  considered  a  requisite  in  factory  workrooms; 
systems  of  ventilation  are  almost  entirely  wanting,  and  even  de- 
vices for  admitting  fresh  air  are  seldom  used.  The  following 
figures  show  the  relatively  small  proportion  of  workers  benefited 
either  by  complete  ventilating  systems  or  by  even  such  simple 
devices  as  fans,  wheels  in  windows,  etc. 

Of  the  total  number  of  employees, 

3.9%  work  in  rooms  with  ventilating  systems. 
11.5%  work  in  rooms  with  ventilating  devices. 
84.6%  work    in    rooms    without    ventilating    systems    or 
devices. 


100.    %  total. 

Ventilation  is  incapable  of  exact  measurement  without  chemical 
analysis  of  air  samples.  As  we  were  not  equipped  for  such  work, 
we  were  unable  to  test  the  adequacy  of  such  ventilation  as  was  pro- 
vided. We  shall  discuss  the  lack  of  ventilation  only  when  it  is 
grossly  deficient,  as,  for  instance,  when  dust  and  harmful  vapors 
imperil  the  health  of  the  workers. 

We  are,  however,  not  primarily  concerned  with  the  dangerous 
occupations  which  may  subject  the  workers  to  contact  with  poisons, 
inhalation  of  noxious  gases,  etc.  The  defects  as  to  sanitation  and 
lack  of  physical  care  which  we  point  out  are  found  in  such  trades  as 
candy  making,  book  binding  and  laundries  —  none  of  which  can 
be  regarded  as  dangerous  in  themselves. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  311 

The  separate  industries,  following  in  the  main  the  classification 
of  the  Labor  Department,  will  be  treated  in  detail.  We  shall  de- 
scribe the  processes  of  manufacture  only  in  so  far  as  they  are 
immediately  connected  with  questions  of  sanitation  and  health. 
We  shall  explain,  as  far  as  possible,  whether  there  is  anything 
inherent  in  the  trade  which  may  account  for  the  varying  conditions 
found. 

GENERAL  SUMMARY. 

It  will  be  seen  that,  both  as  to  cleanliness  and  sanitary  con- 
veniences and  comforts,  many  changes  are  to  be  desired  before  the 
work  places  will  be  fit  habitations  wherein  10,000  wage-earners 
must  spend  the  longest  span  of  their  waking  hours. 

The  law  as  to  cleanliness  and  sanitary  conveniences  is  defined  in 
sections  84  and  88  of  the  Labor  Law,  namely: 

Sec.  84.  "  The  walls  and  ceilings  of  each  workroom  in  a  factory 
shall  be  lime  washed  or  painted,  when  in  the  opinion  of  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor,  it  will  be  conducive  to  the  health  or  cleanliness 
of  the  persons  working  therein.  Floors  shall  be  maintained  in  a 
safe  condition  and  shall  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary  at  all  times." 

Sec.  88.  "  In  every  factory  there  shall  be  provided  suitable  and 
convenient  water-closets  for  each  sex,  in  such  number  as  the  Com- 
missioner of  Labor  may  determine.  Such  water-closets  shall  be 
properly  screened,  lighted,  ventilated  and  kept  clean  and  sanitary." 

The  facts  revealed  in  our  investigations  show  clearly  that  many 
premises  —  workrooms,  hallways  and  toilets  —  are  neglected  to  a 
scandalous  degree.  They  need  repairs,  repainting,  scouring  and 
scrubbing.  Many  employers  apparently  do  not  realize  that  they 
aro  violating  the  law  when  their  premises  are  filthy.  Many  make 
no  sufficient  provision  in  their  running  expenses.  It  is  customary  in 
most  factories  to  have  the  work  people  sweep  up  every  evening,  but 
this  cleaning  is  hurried  and  superficial,  and  should  not  be  allowed 
to  take  the  place  of  thorough  housecleaning  at  regular  intervals. 
There  is  the  greatest  diversity  in  practice.  For  instance,  one  excel- 
lent laundry  employs  a  cleaning  woman,  who  is  a  regular  member 
of  the  force  and  works  full  hours.  And  the  best  candy  factory 
keeps  two  men  steadily  on  the  job.  Such  ample  provision  is  rare. 


312         NOTES  OTX  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

Another  instance  is  probably  more  characteristic.  The  shop  occu- 
pies two  floors,  the  processes  create  dust,  and  yet  the  entire  clean- 
ing for  150  workers  is  done  by  one  woman,  who  comes  in  for  one 
day  a  week,  and  is  paid  $1.25.  She  cleans  the  work  rooms,  but 
says  that,  as  far  as  she  knows,  no  one  ever  washes  the  toilets. 
Needless  to  add,  these  workrooms  and  toilets  were  found  to  be 
graded  C. 

Many  of  the  toilets,  especially,  are  indescribably  dirty,  dark  and 
unventilated.  If  new  fixtures  are  not  installed,  the  seats  and 
bowls  need  to  be  thoroughly  scoured,  disinfected  and  repaired.  If 
the  floors  were  built  of  concrete  or  some  non-absorbent  material, 
they  could  be  kept  clean  and  dry.  Moreover,  lighting  of  the  toilets 
is  essential  if  cleanliness  and  decency  are  to  be  habitually  main- 
tained. For  that  purpose,  they  must  be  painted  a  light  color,  and 
if  daylight  does  not  suffice,  artificial  illumination  must  be  ample. 

Employers  are  wont  to  shift  the  blame  on  their  employees,  as- 
serting that  the  latter  will  not  keep  the  accommodations  clean. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  both  sides  are  to  blame.  But  all  the  work- 
ers are  not  indifferent.  Many  women  complain  about  the  lack  of 
cleanliness  and  regard  it  as  a  distinct  grievance.  Moreover,  if  the 
employees  are  so  untaught  as  to  leave  these  places  unfit  for  human 
use,  they  must  be  compelled,  in  the  interest  of  their  fellow  workers, 
at  least,  to  observe  elementary  decencies.  Inasmuch  as  the  workers 
are  on  the  employer's  premises,  the  obligation  is  clearly  laid  upon 
him  to  keep  his  factory  in  proper  condition  and  to  provide  reason- 
able comforts  for  all  of  his  employees.  Neglect,  dilapidation  and 
filth  should  not  be  suffered  in  any  factory. 

In  the  matter  of  ventilation  our  inquiry  brings  out  a  deplorable 
failure  to  provide  for  the  workers.  For  lack  of  data,  as  already 
indicated,  we  omit  discussion  of  general  room  ventilation.  We 
have  examined,  however,  with  some  care  the  means  of  local  or 
forced  ventilation  used  to  remove  dust,  poisons  and  vapors  created 
in  the  processes  of  manufacture.  Of  the  factories  using  such  venti- 
lation there  is  scarcely  a  single  one  which  has  installed  satisfactory 
apparatus  at  every  point  where  it  is  needed.  Even  when  the  equip- 
ment is  supplied,  it  is  not  always  in  use.  Moreover,  the  forced 
draft  often  is  not  strong  enough  to  draw  off  the  waste  products 
thoroughly. 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  313 

The  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law,  such  as  they  are,  are  stated  in 
sections  81  and  86 : 

Sec.  81.  "All  machinery  creating  dust  or  impurities  shall  be 
equipped  with  proper  hoods  and  pipes  and  such  pipes  shall  be  con- 
nected to  an  exhaust  fan  of  sufficient  capacity  and  power  to  remove 
such  dust  or  impurities ;  such  fan  shall  be  kept  running  constantly 
while  such  machinery  is  in  use;  except  where,  in  case  of  wood- 
working machinery,  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  after  first  making 
and  filing  in  the  public  records  of  his  office  a  written  statement  of 
the  reasons  therefor,  shall  decide  that  it  is  unnecessary  for  the 
health  and  welfare  of  the  operatives.  .  .  ." 

Sec.  86.  "  The  owner,  agent  or  lessee  of  a  factory  shall  provide 
in  each  workroom  thereof,  proper  and  sufficient  means  of  ventila- 
tion, and  shall  maintain  proper  and  sufficient  ventilation ;  if  exces- 
sive heat  be  created  or  if  steam,  gases,  vapors,  dust  or  other  im- 
purities that  may  be  injurious  to  health  be  generated  in  the  course 
of  the  manufacturing  process  carried  on  therein  the  room  must  be 
ventilated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  them  harmless,  so  far  as 
is  practicable.  .  .  ." 

These  general  requirements,  obviously,  give  no  workable  tests 
by  which,  for  instance,  one  can  determine  the  point  at  which' 
impurity,  temperature  or  humidity  of  the  air  becomes  excessive 
and  needs  to  be  corrected  by  ventilation. 

Furthermore,  the  provisions  of  these  sections  for  ventilation  in 
special  processes  are  apparently  nullified  to  a  large  extent  by  the 
phrase  "  as  far  as  is  practicable,"  in  section  86.  This  modification 
makes  it  well-nigh  impossible  to  enforce  the  law,  as  is  gives  the 
employer  an  easy  loop-hole  of  escape  from  the  orders  of  the  Depart- 
ment. In  consequence  the  workers  are  very  imperfectly  or  not  at 
all  protected  from  one  of  the  greatest  perils  of  industrial  life. 

Section  17  in  the  Labor  Law  regulates  the  use  of  seats  for 
women : 

"  Every  person  employing  females  in  a  factory  or  as  waitresses 
in  a  hotel  or  restaurant  shall  provide  and  maintain  suitable  seats 
for  the  use  of  such  female  employees,  and  permit  the  use  thereof 


314         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

by  such  employees  to  such  an  extent  as  may  be  reasonable  for  the 
preservation  of  their  health." 

This  provision  of  the  law  is  vague  and,  in  practice,  is  of  little 
value  in  securing  relief.  As  we  shall  note  in  the  following  reports, 
women  are  required  to  stand  in  candy  factories,  laundries  and 
printing  shops  for  hours  at  a  time,  often  for  the  whole  day.  There 
can  be  no  doubt  that  long  hours  of  standing  are  injurious,  and  prin- 
cipally so  to  young  girls.  Medical  testimony  bears  out  this  point. 
It  is  important  that  a  further  intensive  study  should  be  made  of  all 
the  occupations  in  which  women  stand  all  day,  in  order  that  some 
system  of  reliefs  or  alternation  of  work  may  be  instituted  at  least 
in  occupations  in  which  it  has  been  conclusively  proved  that  seats 
are  impracticable. 

It  is  abundantly  evident  from  the  following  reports  that  manu- 
facturers provide  most  inadequately  for  the  daily  comfort  of  their 
employees.  Since  human  efficiency  depends  upon  physical  wel- 
fare, it  is  strange  that  it  should  not  be  more  seriously  considered 
and  provided  for.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  the  health  of  the 
workers  suffers  from  the  hardships  and  discomforts  which  they  en- 
counter in  their  daily  work.  Women  are  particularly  affected  by 
this  lack  of  care.  It  adds  materially  to  the  strain  and  fatigue 
caused  by  long  hours  of  work.  Many  of  these  evils  are  not  inher- 
ent in  the  processes  of  manufacture  and  are  caused  almost  entirely 
by  the  ignorance  or  indifference  of  the  employer. 

PIANOS. 

Piano-making  is  the  largest  and  most  characteristic  industry  of 
the  district.  It  employs  2,922  persons,  or  more  than  one-third  of 
all  the  workers  considered  in  this  survey.  Ninety-three  per  cent 
are  men,  while  only  5  per  cent  are  women.  This  trade  leads  in 
the  employment  of  boys.  The  total  number  of  employees  repre- 
sents something  less  than  one-half  of  all  piano-workers  in  the  city. 

The  various  branches  of  the  highly  specialized  piano  industry 
are  represented  by  factories  manufacturing  and  "  assembling  "  or 
putting  together  the  parts  of  (1)  upright  and  grand  pianos,  (2) 
player  pianos,  (3)  ordinary  actions,  and  (4)  pneumatic  actions. 

There  are  altogether  about  115  piano  and  action  factories  in 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA. 


315 


New  York  City,  and  24  are  located  in  the  district;  these  include 
some  of  the  largest  factories  in  the  city,  viz.,  the  largest  player 
piano  factory,  the  largest  ordinary  action,  and  largest  pneumatic 
action  factory.  The  distribution  of  the  factories  according  to  size 
may  be  seen  from  the  following  listing: 


Less 

6 

16 

25 

50 

100 

150 

200 

250 

300 

Number  of  Workers 

than 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

to 

and 

Total 

5 

15 

24 

49 

99 

149 

199 

249 

299 

over 

Number  of  Factories  .  . 

1 

7 

1 

7 

2 

2 

1 

3 

24 

The  factories  manufacture  for  the  most  part  middle-grade 
pianos,  although  two  turn  out  instruments  of  superior  quality. 

The  factories  are  mostly  housed  in  old  buildings,  some  of  them 
dating  back  40  or  50  year?.  A  few  have  been  constructed  within 
the  last  seven  to  ten  years,  but  even  these  can  hardly  be  spoken 
of  as  modern  factories.  Some  of  the  buildings  originally  had 
no  lighting  system  installed  and  some  are  still  without  lighting 
equipment  of  any  kind  or  have  had  the  gas  pipes  or  wires  put  in 
across  the  ceiling  of  the  room.  Seventeen  are  housed  in  special 
factory  buildings;  five  are  in  loft  buildings;  two  are  in  converted 
tenements. 

In  spite  of  the  age  of  most  of  the  buildings,  the  general  state 
of  the  work  rooms  is  better  than  might  be  expected.  The  floors, 
walls,  and  ceilings  are  fairly  clean,  because,  as  a  rule,  there  is 
no  material  used  in  the  work  which  accumulates  as  waste  on  the 
floor.  Exceptional  is  the  condition  of  things  around  the  benches 
of  the  men  who  prepare  the  wood  for  the  varnish  where  the 
filling  and  staining  materials  collect  on  the  floor,  and,  when  left 
for  years  (in  some  cases  for  ten  or  fifteen  years),  form  a  mound 
around  the  bench.  There  is  nothing  injurious  in  this,  however, 
as  if  becomgfl  hard  and  can  be  swept  clean,  presenting  a  surface 
like  asphalt.  Varnish  and  oils  also  adhere  to  the  floors  and  walls, 
but  neither  can  these  be  said  to  be  insanitary.  Of  the  total  num- 
ber of  employees,  67  per  cent  work  in  clean  or  fairly  clean  work- 
rooms; 33  per  cent  in  dirty  or  very  dirty  rooms. 


316 


NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


Conditions  in  regard  to  toilets  are  much  more  open  to  criticism. 
In  some  cases  where  there  has  been  no  original  provision  for  them, 
toilets  have  been  built  into  the  shop  room.  The  partitioning  which 
separates  them  from  the  shop  is  only  a  partial  protection  for  the 
air  of  the  room. 

The  following  table  shows  the  number  of  males  subject  to  cer- 
tain specific  conditions.  It  shows,  for  instance,  that  out  of  the 
total  of  2,776  males,  114  are  using  toilets  of  D  grade  which  are 
also  semi-dark;  that  757  males  are  using  toilets  of  C  grade  in 
which  ventilation  is  inadequate. 

TABLE  in. 

NUMBEB  OF  MALES  AFFECTED  BY  CONDITIONS  or  WATER  CLOSETS. 


GRADE  OF  CLEANLINESS 

ILLUMINATION 

VENTILATION 

TOTAL 

PER 

CENT 

Light 

Semi- 
dark 

Dark 

Good 

Poor 

A.. 

208 
777 
934 
30 

24 
80 
462 
114 

196 
723 
729 
24 

36 

174 
757 
137 

232 
897 
1,486 
161 

8.3 

32.3 
53.6 
5.8 

B.. 

40 
90 

17 

C... 

D.. 

Total  

1,949 

680 

147 

1.672 

1,104 

2.776 

100.0 

Per  cent  

70.2 

24.5 

5.3 

60.2 

39.8 

100.0 

Out  of  a  total  of  255  toilets,  248  were  within  the  shop,  4  were 
in  halls,  and  3  were  in  yards.  Of  those  inside  the  shop,  247 
were  separated  from  the  room  by  full  partitions;  58  had  no  out- 
side windows. 

The  relatively  small  number  of  women  in  the  trade  are  sup- 
plied with  fairly  clean  toilets,  which  are  well  lighted  and  well 
ventilated.  But  |in  one  factory  employing  eight  women  their 
toilet  is  alongside  that  for  men,  the  doors  are  separated  by  only 
a  few  inches,  no  screening  is  provided  for  the  approach,  and  the 
doors  open  to  the  full  view  of  the  shop. 

Adequate  washing  facilities  are  practically  unknown  in  this 
trade.  Hot  water  is  supplied  for  only  8  per  cent  of  the  workers, 
— a  gross  deficiency  in  a  trade  where  turpentine,  varnish,  and 
stains  are  constantly  handled.  Towels  are  supplied  to  .3  per  cent 
of  the  workers.  In  only  one  factory  is  a  special  wash  room  pro- 
vided for  men.  In  four  factories,  employing  144  women,  a 
dressing  room  is  provided,  but  in  no  case  are  lockers  supplied. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  317 

Only  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  women  are  subject  to  the 
worst  conditions  cited,,  "because  most  of  them, — about  120,  in 
fact, — are  employed  by  two  large  factories  which  have  paid  par- 
ticular attention  to  their  needs.  Their  work  rooms  are  separated 
from  those  of  the  men ;  dressing  rooms  and  toilets  of  the  two 
sexes  are  divided  not  only  by  partitions,  but  by  location  in  sepa- 
rate parts  of  the  factory. 

The  women  are  employed  at  light  glue  work  connected  with 
the  making  of  pneumatic  actions,  such  as  gluing  together  and 
slipping  into  place  little  leather  washers,  and  gluing  rubberized 
cloth  into  the  bellows  parts.  They  also  glue  on  felt  and  cut  apart 
and  trim  the  various  little  parts  of  the  action  which  have  been 
glued  in  common  to  a  piece  of  felt  or  leather.  Stools  are  sup- 
plied everywhere,  but  in  no  place  have  they  been  provided  with 
backs. 

Because  of  the  nature  of  this  investigation,  we  shall  give  no 
description  of  any  processes  except  those  which  involve  discom- 
fort or  danger  to  the  health  of  the  workers.  The  varnishing 
department  prepares  the  wood  for  the  varnish,  puts  on  the  color- 
ing matter  suited  to  the  various  kinds  of  wood,  and  applies  the 
varnish.  The  preparation  of  the  wood  is  known  as  "filling"  and 
"  staining."  Coloring  is  known  as  "  coloring."  There  are  gen- 
erally two  groups  of  varnishers:  the  men  who  apply  the  first 
coats  and  those  who  apply  the  last  or  "  flow  "  coat.  This  must  be 
exceedingly  smooth  and  even,  and  present  a  good  lustre.  Its 
application  naturally  demands  more  skill  and  knowledge  than  the 
first  varnishing. 

To  determine  the  number  of  persons  affected  by  irritating  dust 
and  vapors  is  important.  The  following  table  presents  the  facts 
in  this  connection: 


318 


NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


TABLE   IV. 

NUMBER  OF  FACTORIES  AND  ROOMS  IN  WHICH  VENTILATION  is  NEEDED  AND  NUMBER  or 

PERSOVS  AFFECTED. 


ODORS  OR  PARTICLES  PRESENT  IN  THE  AIR 

Number  of 
factories 
affected 

Number  of 
rooms 
affected 

Number  of 
persona  affected 

Male 

Female 

18 
3 
1 
2 

45 
7 
1 
2 
2 

324 
28 
5 
27 
68 

Glue      .      .                

61 

Potash  

Saw  dust  ....            

None  

80 

Total               

19(a) 

57 

452 

141 

(a)  Shows  total  number  of  factories  affected.  Some  factories  are  entered  in  more  that 
on«  classification. 

Nearly  all  the  piano  factories  are  poorly  or  not  at  all  ventilated. 
The  larger  number  receive  fresh  air  only  through  the  cracks  of 
the  building  and  occasionally  through  an  open  door.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  varnish  work  as  well  as  the  delicate  actions 
must  be  protected  from  dust  and  weather.  Usually  the  varnish 
rooms  are  not  ventilated  at  all,  and  the  windows  are  kept  tightly 
shut  so  that  as  little  dust  as  possible  will  get  into  the  varnish 
while  it  is  being  applied. 

The  danger  to  the  varnishers  arises  from  the  fumes  of  the 
turpentine,  which  when  confined  in  an  ill-ventilated  room  cause 
discomfort  or  sickness.  The  men  as  a  rule  do  not  seem  to  bo 
impressed  with  the  dangers  of  disease  from  turpentine  fumes,  .su- 
ing that  they  are  sick  for  a  little  while  when  they  first  start  in, 
but  they  get  used  to  the  odors,  and  that  is  the  end  of  it. 

According  to  the  investigation  of  the  Illinois  Commission  on 
Occupational  Diseases,  the  effects  are  especially  serious  from  long 
continued  inhalation  of  the  vapors;  nausea,  faintness  and  often 
diseases  of  the  kidneys,  such  as  Bright's  disease,  may  result. 
Better  ventilation  is  the  remedy.  Bad  air  conditions  are  found 
especially  where  the  last,  or  "flow,"  coat  of  varnish  is  put  on. 
"  Flowing "  is  always  done  in  a  small  room,  either  partitioned 
off  or  built  for  the  purpose,  where  the  temperature  is  kept  up 
to  about  80  or  85  degrees  in  winter  time  and  runs  much  higher 
in  summer.  In  one  factory  where  thermometer  readings  were 
taken,  the  following  results  were  obtained :  in  the  "  flow  "  coat 
room  the  temperature  was  found  to  be  88  degrees,  and  the  fore- 
man stated  that  it  was  frequently  90  degrees;  there  was  no  ven- 


o 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  319 

tilation  except  through  cracks.  In  the  varnishing  room  the  first 
dry  bulb  reading  was  77  degrees,  and  the  wet  bulb  was  73  degrees; 
at  the  second  reading  the  dry  bulb  showed  78  degrees,  and  the 
Nvt-t  bulb  6D  degrees.  These  were  taken  at  15-minute  periods. 
The  rooms  are  kept  particularly  hot  so  that  the  varnish  will  work 
more  easily. 

For  the  reasons  just  given,  practically  no  efforts  are  made  to 
secure  better  ventilation.  It  would  probably  be  possible  to  im- 
prove the  air  of  the  rooms  and  at  the  same  time  keep  the  dust 
out  by  tacking  cheese  cloth  over  the  window  openings. .  If  enough 
heat  were  provided,  the  air  could  then  be  kept  at  the  right 
temperature  for  the  varnish  work. 

In  the  tone-regulating  department,  where  the  hammers  are 
filed,  a  fine  woolen  dust  is  created.  The  hammers  are  made  of 
felt  and  the  process  of  filing  them  down  to  a  satisfactory  size 
releases  a  quantity  of  woolen  dust  into  the  air  to  be  inhaled  by 
the  workmen.  This  danger  is  not  very  serious  except  in  very  large 
factories  where  one  person  may  devote  all  his  time  to  the  work. 
Sometimes  boys  are  put  at  this  job. 

Special  elements  of  danger  are  found  also  in  the  milling  depart- 
ment. In  a  great  many  cases  no  blower  system  is  provided  to 
carry  off  the  sawdust  from  the  machines  and  the  workmen  in  con- 
sequence are  covered  with  it  and  must  inhale  some  of  the  dust 
into  their  lungs.  The  men  who  operate  the  sand-papering 
machines  are  particularly  liable  to  be  injured,  as  this  dust  is 
especially  fine  and  insidious.  In  some  places  blower  systems  are 
provided,  but  those  seen  are  not  adequate. 

Practically  no  protection  from  dangerous  machines  exists. 
The  saws,  either  circular  or  band  saws,  jointers,  planers,  and 
f razing  machines  are  as  a  rule  without  guards.  The  gearing  and 
belting  are  almost  always  left  exposed  and  in  many  cases,  because 
of  their  location,  they  are  even  dangerous  to  passers-by.  In  one 
instance  foot-holds,  in  the  shape  of  rubber  pads,  had  been  placed 
before  the  jointers,  planers,  and  saws  to  prevent  the  men  from 
slipping  on  the  floor  and  falling  into  the  machines.  In  one  or  two 
instances  it  was  found  that  guards  had  been  provided  for  saws, 
but  according  to  the  foreman's  statements,  they  were  never  used 
by  the  men,  as  the  factory  inspectors  agreed  that  they  were  not 
practical  and  did  not  enforce  their  use. 


320         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

There  are  approximately  145  men  and  boys  who  are  liable  to 
accidents  from  dangerous  and  unprotected  machinery.  About  50 
of  them  are  subject  to  the  more  serious  dangers  of  unprotected 
saws,  jointers,  planers,  and  other  mill  work  machinery.  In  all 
these  cases,  obviously,  there  is  absolute  disregard  of  the  safety  of 
employees. 

In  the  pneumatic  action  factories  the  danger  arises  from  three 
distinct  sources:  from  unprotected  machinery,  from  varnish 
fumes,  and  from  acids  which  are  used  for  cleaning  metal  work, 
and  in  the  nickel-plating  process.  An  acid  sometimes  employed 
for  cleaning  off  the  metal  is  cyanide  of  potassium.  This  is  an 
exceedingly  dangerous  poison.  A  year  ago  a  small  boy  was  killed 
by  falling  into  a  vat  of  it.  He  absorbed  so  much  of  the  poison 
through  his  skin  that  he  died  within  a  few  hours. 

There  are  especial  risks  in  the  pneumatic  action  factories  in 
connection  with  the  metal-working  machinery,  namely,  the  stamp- 
ing machines,  the  screw  machines,  and  the  lathes.  As  in  the  case 
of  the  wood-working  machines,  the  gearing  and  belting  are  com- 
monly exposed  and  unprotected.  In  this  department  also  there  is 
metallic  dust  in  the  air  from  improperly  hooded  buffing  machine?. 

Both  gas  and  electricity  are  used  in  the  West  Side  factories. 
In  all  cases,  except  at  some  of  the  mill  machines,  there  has  been 
no  effort  to  protect  the  eyes  of  the  workmen  from  either  glare 
or  reflection.  Unprotected  flickering  gas  flames,  almost  level  with 
the  head,  are  used,  or  the  ordinary  unshaded  electric  bulb.  The 
light  is  not  diffused  throughout  the  workroom,  but  single  lights 
are  suspended  above  the  individual  workers.  It  is  true  that  not 
much  night  work  is  done,  and  except  for  the  late  afternoon  work 
in  winter,  artificial  light  is  not  needed.  Nevertheless,  there  is 
enough  of  such  work  to  make  the  question  of  proper  illumination 
an  important  one.  In  the  large  number  of  instances  where 
artificial  light  has  to  be  used  all  day  there  is  also  no  protection 
from  glare.  The  constant  use  of  artificial  light  during  the  day  is 
necessary  for  362  men  and  18  women.  Every  one  of  these  persons 
was  found  to  be  using  individual  concentrated  lights,  and,  there- 
fore, was  subjected  to  considerable  eye-strain. 

The  piano  industry  has  long  been  regarded  as  one  of  the  strong- 
holds of  the  old  German  mechanic.  But  we  find  that  although 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA. 


321 


the  Germans  originally  were  the  largest  racial  element  in  the  trade, 
they  constitute  at  present  probably  the  second  race  and  possibly 
the  third  in  number.  This  is  true  even  if  we  group  together  both 
Germans  and  Germ  an- Americans.  The  Italians  greatly  outnumber 
all  other  races. 

From  the  following  Table  (V),  it  will  be  seen  that  out  of  818 
males  who  gave  information  as  to  their  nativity,  by  far  the  largest 
group  were  Italians,  or  of  Italian  parentage,  while  the  next  in 
order  were  of  Germans,  or  of  German  parentage. 

These  figures  include  both  native-born  persons  and  foreign- 
born  who  reported  as  to  their  nativity. 

TABLE  v 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  EMPLOYEES  REPORTING  AS  TO  NATIVITY,  NATIVITY  OF^PARENTS  AND 

NATIONALITY 


NATIVITY  AND  NATIONALITY 

Number  of 
employees 

Native  born: 
Native-born  parents 
American  

64 

Foreign-born  parents 
Italian-  American  

29 

German  -American  .    .                .            .    . 

149 

Rnhfimian-  American  ......          ,  .  .  .            ....... 

18 

Irish-American  

31 

Scandinavian  -American  

2 

Hebrew-  American  •  

Others  

10 

Not  known  

23    . 

Total. 

333    • 

Foreign  born: 
Foreign-born  parents 
Italian  

334 

German  

49 

Bohemian  

32 

Irish  

5 

Scandinavian  

23 

Austrian  

5 

Hebrew  

14 

Others  

22 

Not  known  

f    Total  

485 

Grand'total  

818 

The  figures  in  the  following  Table  (VI)  also  do  not  include  all 
the  workers  in  the  industry.  They  represent  only  those  who 
reported  the  number  of  years  they  have  been  in  the  piano  indus- 
try and  the  number  of  years  they  have  lived  in  the  United  States. 
Among  these,  429  are  foreign  born,  318  are  Italians,  36  are 
Germans.  The  full  racial  distribution  of  these  workers  can  be 
seen  from  the  table: 
11 


322         KOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


TABLE  VI. 

NUMBER  or  MALE  EMPLOYEES  REPORTING  THE  NUMBER  or  YEARS  THEY  HAVE  BEEN  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES,  DISTRIBUTED  ACCORDING  TO  NATIONALITY 


NATIONALITY 

N  UMBER  OF  EMPLOYEES  WHO  HAVE  BEEN  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 
SPECIFIED  NUMBER  or  YEARS 

Less 
than 
1 

yr. 

1 

yr. 

2 
yrs. 

3 

yrs. 

4 

yrs. 

5 

yrs. 

6-9 
yjs. 

10-14 
yrs. 

15-19 
yrs. 

20-29 

yrs. 

30-39 
yrs. 

40 
yrs 
and 
over 

Total 

Italian  

17 

15 

22 

1 

15 

2 
3 

18 

2 
3 

39 

94 
4 

50 
6 

19 

29 
12 

"8 

'  '5 

318 
36 
4 
31 
4 
1 
6 
7 
22 

429 

fl^rmnn  .... 

Hungarian  

Bohemian  

1 

2 

3 

5 

5 

5 

3 
1 

1 

1 

"2 

Scandinavian  .  .  . 

Polish  

1 

Hebrew  

2 

1 
1 

4 

2 
1 
4 

1 

3 

"3 
5 

"i 

1 

'  'i 

1 

Irish  

Others  

1 

1 

2 

Total  

21 

17 

26 

21 

23 

47 

109 

68 

27 

51 

12 

7 

Of  the  foreign  born,  114,  or  approximately  one-quarter  of  the 
workers,  have  been  in  the  industry  less  than  half  the  time  that 
they  have  been  in  the  United  States;  another  quarter  has  been  in 
the  industry  ever  since  they  arrived  here.  It  is,  therefore,  appar- 
ent that  the  newer  immigrants  are  more  and  more  finding  employ- 
ment in  the  piano  factories.  The  manufacurers  on  the  West  Side 
have  a  particularly  large  proportion  of  Italians,  because  these  fac- 
tories, as  a  rule,  turn  out  an  inferior  grade  of  pianos  and  can 
therefore  employ  cheaper  and  less  skilled  labor.  . 

The  race  and  nationality  of  the  women  we  have  not  treated  here, 
because  the  number  employed  is  so  small.  They  are  employed 
only  in  the  pneumatic  action  factories.  Practically  all  the  women 
employed  are  Irish  or  Irish-American,  and  live  close  to  the  factory. 

PRINTING,  BINDING  AND  PAPER  GOODS. 

The  second  largest  group  of  workers  in  the  district  are  those 
engaged  in  printing,  binding,  and  the  manufacture  of  paper  goods. 
In  the  25  establishments  inspected,  2,245  workers  are  employed. 
Of  these,  60  per  cent  are  men;  39  per  cent  women,  and  1  per  cent 
children  under  16.  It  leads  as  an  employment  for  women,  with 
858,  or  38  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  women  workers. 

Poor  sanitary  conditions  in  this  industry  cannot  be  charged  to 
the  existence  of  small,  mean  shops  or  to  primitive  buildings.  The 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  323 

number  of  small  establishments  is  relatively  few.  There  are  only 
10  places  with  a  force  under  25.  They  represent  106  workers, 
or  but  4.7  per  cent  of  the  working  force.  Eight  establishments 
employ  more  than  100  persons.  Also,  some  of  the  most  modern 
buildings  in  the  district  are  those  in  which  the  printing  establish- 
ments are  found.  Of  the  25  firms,  17  are  located  in  lofts,  6  in 
special  factories,  1  in  a  converted  tenement,  and  1  in  a  dwelling. 

The  cleanliness  of  the  work-rooms  is  rather  above  the  local 
average.  None  of  them  fall  into  the  "D"  grade.  Only  14  per 
cent  of  the  employees  work  in  dirty  shops,  and  86  per  cent  work 
in  fairly  clean  or  clean  quarters. 

Conditions  in  the  water  closets  are  reported  as  clean  or  fairly 
clean  for  67  per  cent  of  the  men  and  90  per  cent  of  the  women; 
as  dirty  for  33  per  cent  of  the  men  and  10  per  cent  of  the  women, 
Of  the  men,  21  per  cent  have  semi-dark  water-closet  apartments, 
and  of  the  women,  6  per  cent.  Three  per  cent  of  the  women 
have  totally  dark  apartments.  The  provision  of  washing  facilities 
is  inadequate  for  38  per  cent  of  the  workers.  Cold  water  only 
for  washing  is  supplied  for  1,407  workers,  or  63  per  cent  of  them; 
hot  water  for  37  per  cent;  towels  for  56  per  cent. 

The  inadequacy  of  the  washing  facilities  is  serious  on  account 
of  the  handling  of  types  and  colors,  and  contact  with  poisonous 
lead  oxides.  While  folding,,  binding,  and  collating  are  compara- 
tively clean  jobs,  the  putting  on  of  gold  leaf  and  handling  of  ink 
is  at  best  a  dirty  job,  covering  the  hands  and  smutting  the  faces 
of  the  workers.  Only  59  women  have  lockers  for  their  clothes, 
and  but  316,  or  36  per  cent,  have  any  sort  of  dressing  room  or 
washroom. 

Of  the  25  shops  visited,  18  do  printing,  or  printing  and  binding; 
1  does  binding  only ;  6  are  miscellaneous.  The  most  important  in 
the  miscellaneous  group  is  a  pattern-making  company,  the  second 
largest  establishment  of  the  district.  This  place  employs  407  per- 
sons, of  whom  246  are  women. 

Although  linotype  and  monotype  machines  have  largely  taken 
the  place  of  hand  composition,  type-setting  by  hand  is  still  used  for 
the  best  grades  of  printing.  We  found  31  men  operating  machines 
and  188  hand  compositors.  Printers  have  improved  in  health  and 
have  suffered  less  from  lead  poisoning  since  the  handling  of  type 


324         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

and  inhaling  of  dust  from  the  cases  have  so  largely  been  super- 
seded by  the  newer  processes.  But  there  are  still  evils  to  remedy. 
Each  linotype  machine  has  a  lead  pot,  which  is  heated  by  a  Bunsen 
burner.  The  air  of  the  room  is  vitiated  by  this  burning  gas  and 
is  very  unwholesome  to  breathe  all  day  long.  The  monotype 
machines,  which  give  work  to  11  men,  are  usually  located  in  sepa- 
rate rooms,  in  order  to  keep  the  white  vapors  which  rise  from  the 
melting  pot  from  poisoning  the  air  of  the  entire  loft.  The  fumes 
are  merely  carried  up  a  few  feet  towards  the  ceiling  by  a  short 
exhaust  pipe,  instead  of  being  completely  drawn  away  into  the 
outer  air  by  means  of  continuous  piping,  hoods  or  exhausts.  The 
danger  in  the  monotype  machines  comes  from  the  oxide  of  lead 
which  forms  on  molten  metal  and  is  easily  scattered  about  the 
workroom  by  currents  of  air.  Seven  shops  where  gas  or  lead 
fumes  are  found  need  better  ventilation.  There  are  difficulties  in 
the  press  room,  as  well.  A  large  number  of  pressmen  and  paper 
handlers  are  subjected  to  a  high  degree  of  heat  and  humidity,  owing 
to  the  need  for  quick  drying  and  smooth  flow  of  the  ink. 

Proper  daylight  illumination  is  scarcely  to  be  found  in  the  print- 
ing trades.  The  extra  strain  on  eyesight  is  particularly  serious 
in  an  industry  which  in  itself  fatigues  the  eyes.  Typographical 
work,  in  fact  almost  every  process  connected  with  the  making  of 
books,  is  a  continual  tax  on  the  eyes.  Typesetting,  proof  reading, 
engraving  plates  and  several  of  the  binding  operations  such  as  sew- 
ing, requires  the  workman  to  gaze  intently  at  his  work.  For  this 
reason  the  best  system  of  illumination  is  none  too  good.  In  16 
establishments  an  actual  count  of  employees  working  by  artificial 
light  in  the  daytime  was  made,  as  follows : 

662  men,  or  65  per  cent  of  the  men  employed. 

241  women,  or  49  per  cent  of  the  women  employed. 

The  best  printing  establishments  have  adapted  the  diffused  sys- 
tem of  lighting,  which  commends  itself  as  most  closely  approxi- 
mating daylight.  Only  about  half  of  our  workers  use  diffused  or 
ceiling  light,  and  the  other  half  use  the  more  trying  individual  or 
concentrated  light  approximately  at  eye-level.  On  press  work  the 
electric  light  bulbs  are  located  below  eye-level.  The  workers'  eyes 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A.  SELECTED  ABBA.  325 

are  exposed  to  the  unshaded  light  whenever  the  presses  are  being 
fed. 

The  employment  of  so  large  a  number  of  women  in  the  binderies 
makes  it  important  to  know  to  what  extent  their  work  requires 
standing.  Of  the  women  who  are  seated,  scarcely  any  have  chairs 
with  backs,  which  would  give  relief  by  permitting  relaxation  when 
lulls  occur  in  the  work.  The  women  at  the  binding  machines  or 
sewing  machines,  and  those  who  fold  would  not  find  chair  backs  an 
interference  with  their  work.  Most  of  the  women,  however,  are 
employed  as  collators  or  gatherers.  They  walk  to  and  fro  in  the 
aisle  between  a  double  row  of  stacked  "  signatures  "  or  sections  of 
a  book,  usually  16,  which  they  gather  together  in  sequence,  ready 
for  binding.  We  find  by  actual  count  that  of  tho  858  women  em- 
ployed in  25  establishments,  215  stand  all  day,  that  is,  25  per  cent 
of  all  the  women  employees.  In  most  places  no  stools  are  pro- 
vided, and  there  is  no  alternation  of  occupation  to  relieve  fatigue. 
Stools  should  be  provided  in  all  such  occupations  for  occasional 
use.  Our  investigators  noticed  that  the  women  sat  on  the  corners 
of  tables  or  on  the  window-ledges  whenever  an  opportunity  offered. 
Xo  study  has  been  made  of  these  occupations  to  ascertain  whether 
some  modification  of  processes  might  not  be  devised  to  allow  women 
to  be  seated.  In  this  trade,  as  in  all  others  later  to  be  mentioned, 
in  which  women  are  required  to  stand,  there  is  urgent  need  of 
better  supervision. 

METALS. 

The  metal  trades  have  long  been  characteristic  of  the  district. 
There  are  82  establishments  engaged  in  some  branch  of  this  indus- 
try. They  employ  1,950  workers,  or  4 A  per  cent  of  the  whole 
number  of  workers  in  corresponding  branches  of  the  industry  in 
the  city.  Among  the  district  industries,  the  combined  metal  trades 
rank  third  in  importance,  employing  18.2  per  cent  of  the  total  num- 
ber of  factory  workers. 

Of  the  1,950  workers,  104  are  women.  Only  one  child  undei 
sixteen  was  reported  as  employed.  A  single  establishment  —  a 
sheet  metal  factory  —  gives  work  to  84  of  the  women.  The  re- 


326 


NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


maining  20  are  distributed  among  several  small  establishments,  no 
one  shop  having  more  than  three. 

The  metal  trad«  is  represented  by  the  following  groups : 


9 

No.  Estab. 

No.  Workers 

28 

781 

6 

406 

5 

140 

15 

168 

28 

455 

O' 

Total  

82 

1,950 

The  metal  workers  are  distributed  among  a  great  number  of 
small  shops.  Half  of  the  establishments  employ  not  more  than  10 
men.  Three-fourths  employ  not  more  than  25.  Thirty  per  cent 
are  employed  in  shops  where  the  force  is  less  than  25.  Many  of 
the  smaller  places  are  remnants  of  thriving  businesses  which  have 
fallen  off  greatly  during  recent  years.  Shops  which  formerly  built 
wagons  now  only  do  repair  work;  the  majority  engage  in  the  as- 
sembling, grinding  and  polishing  of  metal  parts ;  there  is,  on  the 
whole,  less  foundry  work  than  formerly,  when  building  styles  in 
the  city  made  greater  use  of  ornamental  and  architectural  iron 
than  is  done  at  present. 

The  firms  are  housed  in  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  buildings. 
Some  of  the  trades  are  by  nature  partly  out-door  occupations.  In 
a  number  of  cases  the  establishments  make  use  of  a  rear  yard  or 
court  or  an  open  driveway  for  storage  of  material,  and  part  of  the 
work  is  done  in  the  open  air.  One  scrap  iron  place  occupies  an 
open  lot  with  surrounding  sheds.  This  establishment  was  formerly 
a  rolling  mill,  which  discontinued  as  such  a  few  years  ago,  and  has 
since  been  occupied  only  in  baling  scrap  iron  for  shipment  to  mills 
outside  the  city.  This  rolling  mill  was  one  of  the  last  to  give  up 
business  in  Manhattan.  Many  of  the  establishments  inspected 
represent  a  similar  stage  of  industrial  decline,  —  a  fact  which 


INDUSTRIAL.  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  327 

largely  accounts  for  their  primitive  quarters  and  poor  sanitary  con- 
ditions. Some  of  the  buildings  survive  from  a  period  when  the 
West  Side  was  but  a  village  and  door-yard  space  was  plentiful. 
One  manufactory  of  electrical  goods  occupies  a  two-story  wooden 
structure  which  was  formerly  a  dwelling.  The  front  porch  has 
been  closed  in  with  windows  to  make  office  space,  and  the  walls 
which  once  separated  the  living  rooms  have  been  knocked  out  to 
form  a  loft. 

As  to  kind  of  building  occupied,  the  establishments  are  divided 
as  follows:  50^c  in  lofts,  42%  in  special  factories,  3%  in  tene- 
ments, 3%  in  converted  tenements,  and  2%  in  dwellings. 

The  illumination  of  the  metal  shops  is  usually  deficient.  Arti- 
ficial light  is  generally  needed  and  used  during  daytime  in  some 
part  of  the  shop.  Much  of  the  poor  lighting  is  due  to  the  fact  that 
the  same  loft  serves  as  both  warehouse  and  workshop.  Stores  of 
raw  material  and  finished  goods  are  often  disposed  in  such  a  way 
as  to  obstruct  the  light.  Windows  on  three  or  four  sides,  or,  at 
least,  on  opposite  sides,  are  the  rule.  The  small  pocket-shop,  with 
windows  on  one  side,  is  unusual  in  the  district.  Defective  light- 
ing is  seldom  due  to  actual  lack  of  window  space,  but  a  neighbor- 
ing wall  may  render  a  row  of  windows  ineffective,  or  the  mere 
depth  or  breadth  of  the  workroom,  combined  with  a  low  ceiling, 
may  result  in  a  general  dimness  throughout. 

In  the  wagon  shops  and  iron  works  the  lighting  is  especially  bad. 
As  a  rule  they  occupy  the  ground  floor ;  several  are  in  cellars.  The 
windows  of  the  metal  shops  are  often  so  dirty  as  to  transmit  very 
little  light;  forge  dust  and  smoke  hang  in  the  air,  making  the 
atmosphere  dingy  as  well  as  unhealthful.  The  men  are  so  used 
to  their  dark,  grimy  quarters  that  they  expect  nothing  better.  A 
German  wagon-maker  even  insisted  that  he  preferred  to  work  in 
the  dark,  saying  he  could  "  see  "  his  work  better. 

Ventilation  and  temperature  are  both  uneven  in  the  metal  works. 
Frequently  open  doors  and  windows  are  depended  on  for  the 
former  and  the  heat  of  the  forge  or  furnace  for  the  latter.  There 
is  little  even  distribution  of  fresh  air,  and  workers  moving  about 
the  shop  are  subject  to  sudden  changes  in  temperature  and  strong 
drafts. 


328         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

The  character  of  the  work  is  regarded  as  an  excuse  for  dirt 
and  disorder.  The  general  cleanliness  of  the  metal  shops  is  of  a 
low  grade.  The  presence  of  heaps  of  metal  and  the  accumulation 
of  oxides  and  filings  make  it  difficult  to  keep  such  places  clean. 
Many  of  the  establishments  are  small  shops,  which  are  especially 
liable  to  neglect  in  this  respect. 

Only  32%  of  all  the  metal  workers  are  employed  in  clean  or 
fairly  clean  workrooms.  Over  half,  or  53%,  work  in  dirty  work- 
rooms, and  15%  in  very  dirty  workrooms.  These  conditions  are 
all  the  more  serious  in  the  absence  of  any  provision  for  lunch- 
rooms. The  workshop  is  used  for  this  purpose,  the  dust-covered 
machines  or  benches  serving  as  tables,  so  that  the  possibility  of  tak- 
ing in  toxic  particles  with  the  food  is  always  present.  In  one 
shop  the  men  were  observed  eating  their  lunch  in  the  midst  of  suf- 
focating acid  and  lacquer  fumes. 

These  dangers  are  increased  by  the  poverty  of  washing  facili- 
ties. It  is  unusual  for  the  men  to  have  adequate  arrangements  for 
washing  up.  In  no  case  is  a  separate  washroom  provided.  As  to 
washing  facilities,  1%  of  the  workers  are  reported  as  having  none 
at  all;  80%  as  having  cold  water  only  provided,  and  19%  as  hav- 
ing hot  water;  and  53%  as  having  no  towels.  Measuring  the  shops 
by  our  standards,  which  are  rather  low  than  high,  it  was  found 
that  766  metal  workers,  or  39.3%,  had  adequate  washing  facilities, 
and  1,182,  or  60.7%,  inadequate. 

Many  of  the  buildings  are  old  structures,  in  which  the  water 
closet  apartments  are  additions.  Usually  these  apartments  are 
dark,  ill-ventilated  and  dirty.  Often  they  were  found  to  be  abso- 
lutely dark,  so  that  the  inspector  had  to  light  a  match  to  observe 
their  condition.  The  closet  of  one  small  shop  was  located  in  the 
cellar.  The  entrance  was  a  drop  door,  flush  with  the  court  level, 
which,  when  lifted,  disclosed  dark,  winding  stairs.  The  cellar  floor 
was  of  dirt,  uncemented,  and  the  wood  in  the  floor  of  the  closet 
broken  through.  Rubbish  littered  the  floor,  the  stool  was  broken, 
and  the  boards  were  soggy  and  evil-smelling.  This  place  was  the 
worst  found  among  the  metal  shops,  but  the  average  of  cleanliness, 
light  and  ventilation  generally  was  low. 

The  condition  of  the  water-closets  for  men  is  extremely  bad.  Of 
the  men,  1,473,  or  80%,  are  subjected  to  conditions  which  are 


No.  3. —  POLISHING  AND  BUFFING  ROOM.  The  blower  system  has  been  out  of  order 
for  a  month  or  more,  and  the  brass  dust  and  fluff  cover  the  machinery,  floors,  and 
windows.  It  is  doubtful  whether  the  blower  system  is  adequate  when  in  use. 


INDUSTBIAX,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  329 

either  dirty,  or  very  dirty;  366  men,  or  20%,  to  conditions  that 
are  clean  or  fairly  clean.  While  the  workers  themselves  are  largely 
responsible  for  the  shocking  uncleanliness  which  prevails,  the  dark- 
ness of  the  water-closet  apartments  and  the  failure  to  clean  up  are 
the  chief  reasons  for  their  evil  state.  In  regard  to  illumination, 
39  per  cent  of  workers  are  supplied  with  water-closet  apartments 
which  are  either  dark,  or  semi-dark.  For  38%  the  closets  are 
poorly  ventilated.  Comparatively  few  instances  of  neglected 
plumbing  were  found.  One  establishment  provides  only  three 
water  closets  for  137  workmen,  while,  according  to  recognized 
standards,  one  water  closet  should  be  supplied  for  every  25  persons. 

The  accommodations  for  the  104  females  engaged  in  this  trade 
are  slightly  better  as  regards  cleanliness,  light  and  ventilation. 
Thirty  per  cent  of  them  are  affected  by  fairly  clean,  and  70%  by 
dirty  conditions.  Sixty  per  cent  of  them  have  fairly  ventilated 
apartments  and  95%  have  well-lighted  ones. 

With  reference  to  location,  181  water  closets  are  located  in  the 
workrooms,  9  in  the  hall,  2  in  the  yard,  and  2  in  the  cellar.  Of 
those  opening  directly  into  the  workrooms,  26%  have  no  outside 
windows. 

A  large  sheet-metal  factory  provides  a  dressing  room  for  its  84 
women  employees.  Three  automobile  concerns  also  have  dressing 
rooms  for  their  women  workers,  who  number  but  14  in  all.  This 
makes  98  women,  or  94%  of  the  total  number,  who  have  dressing 
room  accommodations.  But  in  no  case  are  lockers  for  clothes  pro- 
vided, —  an  especial  need  in  these  uncleanly  trades. 

The  firms  inspected  are  engaged  in  one  or  more  of  the  follow- 
ing groups  of  processes:  foundry  work,  tool  and  machine  work, 
polishing  and  buffing,  plating,  lacquering  and  soldering. 

The  question  of  special  ventilation  in  connection  with  all  of  these 
processes  is  a  very  important  one,  as  the  removal  of  gases  and 
fumes  from  the  brass  and  iron  foundries  is  imperative  if  the  health 
of  the  workers  is  to  be  preserved.  Similarly,  the  irritating  metal 
dust,  lint  and  rouge,  or  red  oxide  of  iron,  that  fill  the  air  from 
buffing  and  polishing,  should  not  be  permitted,  especially  as  an 
adequate  remedy  for  this  evil  has  been  found  in  the  installation  of 
a  good  blower  system.  The  control  of  the  lacquer  fumes,  the  acid 
fumes  from  the  plating,  and  the  lead  fumes  from  soldering  is  also 


330         NOTES  ON  SANITABY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

possible  and  should  be  required.  One  of  the  largest  concerns  in 
the  district  maintains  a  boiling  potash  vat  without  a  hood. 
Another  firm,  working  in  brass,  uses  a  drying  box  within  the  work- 
room, with  no  outside  vents.  The  lacquer  fumes  from  this  process 
pervade  two  lofts.  These  are  instances  of  neglect  to  employ  sim- 
ple and  obvious  remedies,  and  are  typical  of  the  general  careless- 
ness existing  with  respect  to  sanitary  conditions. 

The  tin-can  factory  is  the  largest  establishment  in  the  industry— 
in  fact,  it  is  one  of  the  most  important  in  the  district,  as  well,  being 
sixth  in  numbers  and  employing  227  men  and  8-i  women. 

It  illustrates  practically  all  the  poor  conditions  of  work  above 
described.  The  premises  are  old  and  dingy.  They  consist  of  three 
buildings,  formerly  separate,  now  thrown  into  one  large  factory. 
They  are  all  old  buildings,  of  brick  and  wood  construction.  The 
mezzanine  floor  is  particularly  ill  adapted  for  a  packing  room. 
The  ceiling  is  but  6l/o  feet  high,  and  heavy  beams  project  almost 
a  foot  lower,  so  that  the  workers  can  not  walk  through  the  room 
without  bending  their  heads  at  every  beam.  As  to  cleanliness,  the 
whole  factory  is  marked  "  C  "  grade,  that  is  to  say,  it  is  dirty  and 
in  need  of  repainting. 

Tin  cans  of  every  sort  are  made,  the  process  varying  according 
to  the  size  and  shape.  Some  are  made  by  cutting  the  tin,  bending 
it  into  shape  and  soldering;  others  are  stamped  out  by  die  presses. 
Both  men  and  women  handle  the  tin  in  some  stage  of  manufacture, 
but  only  a  few  wear  gloves  to  protect  their  hands  from  the  rough 
edges  of  the  metal.  Cuts  from  the  tin  and  burns  from  the  spat- 
tering of  acid  used  to  clean  the  metal  are  not  infrequent. 

Men  and  women  operate  the  die  presses  to  stamp  out  covers,  han- 
dles, spouts  and  seamless  cans.  Besides  enduring  the  constant 
noise  and  heavy  jarring  of  the  press,  they  are  subjected  to  unneces- 
sary eye  strain  from  the  unshaded  lights  placed  just  behind  the  die 
plate,  directly  in  line  with  their  vision.  These  lights  could  easily 
be  shielded.  Some  of  the  presses  are  admirably  guarded  to  prevent 
the  crushing  of  hands  and  fingers.  But  a  number  of  the  guards 
can  be  removed  at  will  by  the  workers,  so  that  the  protection  can 
not  be  regarded  as  complete  and  effective.  There  are  elements  of 
danger  in  the  soldering  processes  from  both  heat  and  fumes.  The 
special  ventilation  of  the  soldering  machines  is  far  from  satisfac- 


No.  4. —  SHELL  CUTTING  MACHINE.  The  air  is  full  of  the  shell  dust,  which  covers 
the  floors  and  machines.  There  are  no  exhausts  to  carry  off  the  dust. 

The  men  eat  their  lunch  in  this  work  room.  The  washing  facilities  are  entirely 
inadequate. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  331 

tory.     The  men  are  frequently  shifted  from  department  to  depart- 
ment  in  order  to  avoid  constant  exposure  to  the  vitiated  air. 

A  large  number  of  the  women  stand  all  day.  Their  work  at  the 
die  presses,  at  1ihe  threading  machines,  in  assembling  parts,  etc., 
is  speeded  up  to  the  limit  of  endurance. 

FURS,  ETC. 

Nine  establishments  are  engaged  in  making  fur,  leather,  rubber 
*nd  pearl  goods.  The  number  of  workers  employed  is  020,  of 
whom  76%  are  men  and  24 %  women. 

We  found  75%  of  the  men  and  09%  of  the  women  working  in 
fairly  clean  shops;  25%  of  the  men  and  31%  of  the  women,  in 
dirty  or  very  dirty  ones. 

Illumination  in  the  water  closets  is  rated  as  dark  or  semi-dark 
for  25%  of  the  men.  On  the  other  hand,  the  women's  accommoda- 
tions are  all  reported  as  well  lighted.  Ventilation  is  poor  for  15% 
of  the  men  and  17%  of  the  women.  Conditions  are  reported  as 
dirty  for  62%  of  the  men  and  50%  of  the  women.  One  firm  has  a 
water  closet  in  use  by  both  sexes. 

Washing  facilities  are  especially  poor.  They  are  inadequate  for 
86%  of  the  workers.  Hot  water  is  not  supplied  in  any  of  these 
factories,  and  towels  are  provided  for  but  17%  of  the  workers. 

One  of  the  largest  establishments  in  this  group  is  a  factory  which 
manufactures  buttons  of  mother  of  pearl.  The  shop  occupies  the 
fifth  floor  lofts  of  two  buildings,  front  and  rear.  There  are  plenty 
of  windows,  but  many  partitions  interfere  seriously  with  both  light 
and  ventilation.  Each  loft  is  divided  into  five  or  six  rooms. 
Artificial  light  is  needed  much  of  the  time.  Unprotected  gas  jets 
are  the  only  illumination. 

The  main  room  has  rows  of  machines  close  together  for  cutting, 
planing,  drilling  and  polishing  the  shell.  There  are  two  other 
rooms  where  polishing  goes  on,  in  one  of  which  hand-turning  is 
done.  This  process  consists  in  cutting  the  patterns  into  the  but- 
tons with  a  chisel,  while  they  are  held  in  a  revolving  matrix.  There 
is  also  a  drilling  room,  a  small  room  where  the  buttons  are  sorted 
by  colors,  two  carding  rooms,  where  the  buttons  are  attached  to 
cards,  and  a  small  packing  and  shipping  room. 


332         NOTBS  ON  SANITABY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

In  one  department,  known  as  the  Novelty  Room,  fancy  articles 
are  made.  The  edges  of  the  shells  are  first  cut  off  to  make  them 
even.  Then  they  are  sawed  into  square  or  oblong  sections  of  the 
desired  size.  If  a  paper  knife,  for  instance,  is  then  to  be  made,  the 
outline  is  drawn  with  a  pencil,  and  the  paper  knife  is  then  "  shaped 
up  "  by  means  of  an  emery  wheel.  This  process  creates  more  dust 
than  any  other  in  the  shop. 

The  chief  danger  in  this  establishment  is  one  common  to  the 
industry  as  a  whole  —  from  the  shell  dust  which  fills  the  air  and 
piles  up  everywhere  on  the  machines  and  the  floor.  The  dust  cov- 
ers even  the  windows.  A  few  of  the  machines  in  the  Novelty 
Room  have  hoods  and  exhaust  pipes,  with  a  vacuum  fan  draught, 
but  these  are  hopelessly  inadequate.  Most  of  the  machines  kave 
no  exhaust  at  all.  Perhaps  half  a  dozen  have  pasteboard  hoods 
tied  on  with  string  to  protect  the  workers'  eyes  from  the  flying 
dust.  Only  men  work  in  this  room,  but  about  20  women  operate 
drilling  machines  in  other  rooms  where  the  dust  is  very  bad. 

Although  the  inspector  stayed  in  this  shop  only  an  hour  and  a 
half,  the  result  of  the  visit  was  extreme  hoarseness  and  sore  throat. 

In  the  Novelty  Room  (the  only  place  where  there  are  hoods  or 
exhausts)  the  air  is  so  heavy  as  to  seem  almost  suffocating.  Ten 
hours  a  day  of  work  in  this  atmosphere  can  not  fail  to  be  injurious. 
In  fact,  Dr.  Charles  D.  Graham-Rogers  recently  testified  before  the 
State  Factory  Investigating  Commission  that  in  pearl  button  fac- 
tories the  particles  of  shell  fly  into  the  eyes  of  employees  or  are 
inhaled  by  them.  The  silica  invades  the  lungs  and  cuts  the  mu- 
cous membrane  of  the  nose  and  throat,  causing  catarrh  and  some- 
times tuberculosis.  "  Every  pearl  button  worker  I  examined," 
he  said,  "  was  found  suffering  from  bronchitis  and  laryngitis." 

The  ventilation  of  the  entire  shop  is  very  poor.  Only  a  thor- 
ough ventilating  system,  as  well  as  powerful  dust  exhausts,  could 
relieve  the  situation,  for  the  air  is  not  only  filled  with  dust  but 
is  also  heavy  with  the  organic  odor  peculiar  to  the  material  used. 
The  main  work  room,  moreover,  is  greatly  overcrowded. 

A  few  of  the  saws  in  the  Novelty  Room  are  not  properly 
guarded.  Some  of  the  emery  wheels  used  for  polishing  rub  the  hands 
of  the  men  who  operate  them,  so  that  they  are  forced  to  wrap  tkeir 
fingers  with  rags  to  keep  them  from  "burning."  All  tke  ma- 


No.  5. —  BUTTON  POLISHING.  The  exhausts  to  carry  off  the  heavy  shell  dust  are 
inadequate.  The  air  i^-  thick  with  dust  which  has  an  irritating  effect  upon  the  throat. 
Note^the  unprotected  gas  jet  burning  at  full  force  scarcely  a  foot  from  the  worker's 
eye. 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A.  SELECTED  AREA.      333 

chines  are  excessively  noisy,  and  in  the  cutting  and  grinding  rooms 
the  din  is  terrific. 

The  lighting  is  defective.  In  the  carding  rooms  there  is  a  gas 
jet  at  only  one  end  of  a  long  sewing  table,  so  that  the  girls  at  the 
other  end  are  subject  to  constant  eye-strain,  except  during  the  mid- 
dle of  the  day  when  no  artificial  light  is  needed.  The  gas  jets 
which  are  used  for  lighting  the  cutting  and  drilling  machines  are 
on  a  level  with  the  eyes  of  the  workers,  entirely  unprotected,  and 
often  less  than  a  foot  in  front  of  the  face. 

The  washing  facilities  are  extremely  inadequate.  There  are 
two  small  sinks  for  about  150  workers.  There  is  no  hot  water. 
Towels  are  supplied  for  only  about  25  carders,  who  for  the  sake 
of  the  cards  '"  must  be  careful  of  their  hands."  This  is  particu- 
larly bad,  because  practically  all  the  workers  eat  their  lunch  in  the 
work-rooms,  at  machines  that  are  thick  with  dust,  and  with  hands 
that  are  covered  with  it. 

The  building  is  a  veritable  fire  trap.  It  has  wooden  floors  and 
stairs,  narrow  halls,  many  partitions  and  doors,  and  badly  blocked 
fire  escapes.  The  main  room  where  about  80  people  work  has  no 
tin-  escapes  directly  connected  with  it,  and  the  way  to  the  two  on 
the  rear  of  the  building  lies  through  crowded  work-rooms.  The 
fire  escapes  themselves  are  of  the  old  straight  ladder  type. 

One  of  the  largest  and  most  important  establishments  in  the 
district  is  a  hatters'  fur  cutting  shop,  employing  365  hands.  It 
prepares  fur  for  felt  hat  manufacturers,  that  is,  it  performs  the  in- 
itial processes  in  the  making  of  hats.  The  shop  is  located  in  a 
new  building  and  is  rated  high  for  sanitation,  fire  protection,  etc., 
but  the  nature  of  the  processes  call  for  careful  consideration,  as 
there  are  two  distinct  elements  of  danger  to  the  workers:  (1) 
The  flying  fluff,  particles  of  fur,  and  loose  hair  which  are  inhaled 
into  the  workers'  lungs.  (2)  Contact  with  mercury  salts  used 
in  the  "  carotting  "  process  and  the  possible  mercury  poisoning 
resulting  therefrom. 

The  skins  of  Russian  and  Austrian  hares  and  Australian  rabbits 
are  imported  by  the  manufacturers  and  worked  up  into  a  high- 
grade  product.  The  skins  are  first  scraped  and  trimmed  by  a 
large  force  of  Italian  and  Greek  men.  They  work  with  curries 


334         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

and  knives  and  liberate  a  large  quantity  of  dust,  hair  and  fluff 
from  the  skins  which  floats  in  the  air  and  settles  on  tables,  window 
ledges,  il oors  —  in  fact,  it  seems  to  permeate  the  whole  atmos- 
phere. The  employers  have  tried  to  guard  against  this  condition. 
The  work  room  is  large  and  well  lighted,  and  the  plenum  venti- 
lator system  supplies  fresh  air.  Unfortunately,  however,  the  in- 
troduction of  the  air  serves  to  keep  the  floating  particles  in  con- 
stant agitation.  They  are  further  stirred  by  currents  of  air  when- 
ever the  windows  are  open.  These  well  meant  and  costly  efforts 
to  improve  conditions  are  therefore  not  effective.  The  workers 
must  unavoidably  inhale  the  floating  particles  of  fur,  and  thereby 
become  predisposed  to  troubles  of  the  throat  and  lungs  —  trade 
diseases  which  have  long  since  been  recognized  both  here  and  in 
Europe  as  characteristic  of  the  furriers. 

In  the  clipping  room,  the  next  in  order,  this  danger  has  been 
recognized  and  more  effectively  guarded  against.  The  hair  is  cut 
to  a  uniform  length  by  a  rotary  knife  machine.  Each  machine 
is  practically  closed  in  and  so  completely  connected  with  an  ex- 
haust pipe  that  the  loose  hair  is  drawn  away  as  soon  as  the  blade 
of  the  knife  severs  it  from  the  pelt.  The  arrangement  is  so  per- 
fect that  very  little  hair  or  fur  finds  its  way  into  the  workroom. 
The  chief  danger  to  the  worker  is  due  to  his  carelessness  in  mov- 
ing the  knife  guards  out  of  place.  His  fingers  are  consequently 
in  danger  of  being  cut  as  he  presses  the  pelt  against  the  swiftly 
revolving  blades.  These  guards  were  attached  to  the  machines  a 
few  years  ago,  at  considerable  expense.  As  often  happens,  the 
foreman  does  not  enforce  their  constant  use  in  face  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  the  men,  who  wantonly  disregard  their  own  safety  for  the 
sake  of  greater  speed. 

Following  the  clipping  of  the  long  hairs,  the  pelts  are  subjected 
to  chemical  treatment,  or  "  carotting,"  which  washes  out  the  ani- 
mal oil  from  the  fur  and  makes  it  "  mat  "  or  "  felt  "  more  easily. 
It  is  here  that  the  chief  element  of  danger  is  found;  an  ll1/^  per 
cent  solution  of  mercury  nitrate  is  used.  It  is  evident  that  care 
and  forethought  have  been  given  to  the  arrangements.  The  "Acid 
Room"  is  admirably  equipped.  The  floor  is  asphalt,  the  tables 
are  supported  on  brick  piers,  and  drain  towards  the  center.  The 
whole  place  is  washed  down  every  Saturday.  There  are  skylights 


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INDUSTRIAL  SUBVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  ABEA.  335 

overhead  which  are  open  in  summer.  The  room  is  evidently  kept 
as  cool  as  possible,  in  order  to  minimize  the  danger  due  to  the 
volatilizing  of  the  mercury  solution  which  occurs  at  ordinary 
room  temperature.  About  50  men  are  employed  who  stand  at 
their  work  and  wear  rubber  gloves,  which  are  provided  by  the  firm. 
The  process  consists  of  brushing  the  solution  on  the  skins  with  a 
stiff  brush. 

The  foreman  refused  to  admit  there  was  any  ill-health  among 
the  men;  in  fact,  he  pointed  out  individuals  who  had  worked  in 
the  Acid  Room  for  a  period  of  years ;  some  of  them  having  been 
there  six  or  seven  years.  The  men  are  all  foreigners,  and  could 
not  be  interviewed  apart.  The  statements  of  the  foreman  can  not 
be  regarded  as  conclusive  evidence  that  there  are  no  cases  of  poi- 
soning known,  for  mercury  is  a  slow- working  poison ;  it  may  take 
years  to  accumulate  in  the  system  before  it  produces  acute  symp- 
toms, such  as  "  shakes,"  that  is,  partial  paralysis.  Often  the  men  do 
not  recognize  the  earlier  symptoms  themselves,  or  refuse  to  speak 
of  them,  as  they  do  not  wish  to  lose  their  jobs.  Unless  they  are 
sick  enough  to  need  medical  treatment,  it  is  therefore  well-nigh 
impossible  to  locate  cases  of  poisoning.  We  were  unable  to  fol- 
low up  this  investigation  intensively,  and  to  trace  possible  clues 
that  might  have  led  us  to  the  discovery  of  individual  cases. 

To  continue  our  description  of  the  processes:  After  the  acid 
treatment  comes  the  drying  of  the  skins.  They  are  spread  on 
trays  and  run  into  the  drying  ovens.  Whether  wet  or  dry,  the 
skins  now  carry  the  mercury  salts  and  may  cast  their  injurious 
influence  on  the  men  who  handle  them.  After  the  drying  they 
proceed  to  the  brushing  room.  The  greatest  care  is  exercised  to 
exclude  the  brushings  (nitrates,  hair,  etc.)  from  the  work  room 
by  a  system  of  exhausts,  for,  as  the  foreman  ingenuously  re- 
marked, "  If  they  weren't  carried  off,  your  mouth  and  nose  would 
soon  be  bleeding."  Such,  it  is  true,  is  the  effect  of  the  sharp  ni- 
trate-laden particles  or  fibres.  Being  brushed  free  from  dust,  the 
pelts  are  finally  ready  for  cutting.  A  high  speed  rotary  knife 
machine  removes  the  skin  and  leaves  the  fur  lying  in  one  piece. 
This  fur  placed  on  metal  sheets  now  reaches  the  women,  some 
80  or  100  sitting  at  tables.  They  sort  the  fur  and  pick  out  bits  of 


336         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

skin,  imperfections,  etc.,  and  pack  the  loose  fur  in  paper  bags, 
finally  ready  to  be  sent  to  the  hat  makers. 

Authorities  do  not  agree  as  to  whether  the  wet  or  dry  processes 
are  more  conducive  to  poisoning,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  in- 
sidious dangers  menace  the  workers  in  this  industry.  Even  under 
the  best  conditions,  all  the  elements  of  danger  are  not  eliminated. 
Admirable  as  this  shop  is  in  many  ways,  there  are  a  few  addi- 
tional safeguards  for  the  workmen  which  may  be  suggested.  Every 
recognition  should  be  given  to  the  sincere  effort  of  the  owners  to 
make  conditions  of  work  as  wholesome  as  possible.  They  do  not, 
however,  observe  one  precaution  which  is  strictly  required  in  the 
English  Factory  Act,  namely,  that  they  should  make  known  to 
the  workers  the  dangers  of  the  trade  and  warn  them  to  take  every 
precaution  to  avoid  contact  with  the  mercury  solution  and  the  mer- 
cury salts.  Instead  of  a  policy  of  concealment,  notices  printed  in 
the  languages  of  the  workers  ought  to  be  posted  in  the  work  rooms. 
The  need  for  some  such  warning  was  particularly  evident  in  the 
acid  room.  The  pelts  after  treatment  are  stacked  in  large  piles 
and  immediately  carried  to  the  drying  room.  One  of  the  photo- 
graphs taken  in  the  course  of  this  investigation  shows  a  man  carry- 
ing such  a  pile  of  furs  on  his  shoulder  with  the  wet  pelts  actually 
touching  his  face.  As  both  inhalation  of  the  vapors  and  contact 
with  the  lips  may  introduce  the  poison  into  the  system,  it  is  abun- 
dantly evident  that  the  method  of  transferring  the  pelts  should 
be  radically  changed.  As  has  already  been  said,  the  workers  are 
supplied  with  rubber  gloves,  but  they  should  also  be  given  rubber 
aprons.  They  should  be  warned  that  the  salts  may  be  absorbed 
tkrough  the  skin,  and  discouraged  from  spattering  the  solution 
upon  themselves  and  the  workmen  who  stand  nearest  them.  It 
may  be  impossible  to  devise  any  system  of  ventilation  to  remove 
the  mercury  fumes  when  "  carotting  "  is  done  by  hand,  but  there 
is  no  doubt  that  the  greatest  care  should  be  exercised  throughout 
this  process. 

Moreover,  washing  facilities  should  be  readily  accessible  and 
adequate.  In  this  shop  neither  hot  water,  soap,  nor  towels  are  sup- 
plied, so  that  improvements  are  to  be  recommended  in  this  particu- 
lar too.  Toilet  facilities  are  supplied  on  all  the  floors,  but  the 
wash  room  for  all  employees  is  located  on  the  first  floor.  This 


II 


O 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  337 

is  not  a  fortunate  arrangement.  The  wash  room,  it  is  true,  is 
easily  accessible  to  the  men  in  the  "  carotting  "  and  drying  rooms. 
But  it  hardly  seems  likely  that  men  and  women  at  work  upon 
the  skins  and  fur  in  the  upper  stories  of  the  building  will  walk 
downstairs  to  wash  their  hands  before  eating  lunch.  No  lunch 
room  is  provided,  and  although  the  majority  of  the  workers  may 
live  nearby  and  go  home  for  their  noon  day  meal,  yet  many  re- 
main in  the  shop  and  should  have  a  place  kept  apart  for  meals. 
This  is  equally  true  of  other  departments,  especially  in  the  brush- 
ing and  cutting  rooms  where  110  food  should  be  kept  or  eaten  on 
account  of  the  mercury  salts.  It  is  also  true  of  the  scraping  and 
cleaning  department  where  the  flying  fluff  and  the  odor  of  the 
skins  renders  the  rooms  unfit  to  be  used  at  luncheon  time. 

On  the  whole,  therefore,  this  shop  illustrates  the  need  of  con- 
tinued careful  study  of  factory  hygiene,  besides  proving  that  such 
matters  can  not  safely  be  left  to.  the  care  even  of  employers  who 
are  far  above  the  average  in  their  desire  to  do  well  by  their 
employees. 

WOOD  MANUFACTURES. 

Like  the  metal  trades  and  the  textile  trades,  the  wood-working 
industry  may  be  said  to  be  indigenous  to  the  district  studied. 
Under  this  head  are  considered  all  wood-working  shops  except 
those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  pianos.  It  includes  a  large 
number  of  small  places.  The  610  workers  are  divided  among  42 
establishments,  and  45  per  cent  of  the  employees  are  engaged  in 
shops  which  employ  a  force  of  less  than  25  persons.  The  largest 
firm  has  77  workers. 

The  establishments  are  housed  in  14  special  factories,  17  loft 
buildings,  2  tenements,  1  converted  tenement,  2  dwellings,  and  1 
converted  dwelling. 

Of  the  workers,  65  per  cent  are  engaged  in  fairly  clean  shops 
and  35  per  cent  in  dirty  or  very  dirty. 

A  low  grade  of  cleanliness  is  found  in  the  water  closet  apart- 
ments. Twenty-three  per  cent  of  the  workers  are  affected  by  fair, 
77  per  cent  by  dirty,  or  very  dirty,  conditions.  Accommodations 
for  the  men  are  poor,  56  per  cent  having  toilets  badly  lighted  and 
ventilated.  Fourteen  per  cent  of  the  water  closet  apartments  ven- 


338         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

tilate  into  the  work-rooms,  from  which  they  are  separated  by 
dwarf  partitions  only.  Forty-nine  per  cent  of  them  have  no  out- 
side windows.  One  shop  violates  the  standard  set  that  there  must 
be  at  least  1  water  closet  to  25  persons. 

Inadequate  washing  facilities  are  reported  for  67  per  cent  of 
the  employees.  Hot  water  is  supplied  for  17  per  cent  and  towels 
for  35  per  cent. 

The  fumes  arising  from  the  use  of  turpentine  in  the  finishing 
processes  of  this  trade  are  extremely  unhealthful.  As  this  danger 
has  been  already  described  in  connection  with  the  piano  trade,  no 
further  discussion  will  be  given  here. 

In  the  wood-working  shops,  machinery  as  a  rule  was  found 
without  guards  or  safety  appliances.  Unprotected  saws  and  belt- 
ing were  noted  in  the  great  majority  of  the  shops.  Only  one  cir- 
cular saw  was  found  which  was  self-feeding  and  amply  protected. 

Less  than  half  the  shops  had  installed  the  blower-system  for 
removing  saw  dust,  and  the  majority  of  these  were  not  really  effi- 
cient. One  factory  making  shoe  lasts  has  blowers  at  all  the  ma- 
chines, but  saw  dust  and  chips  fly  in  the  air.  The  dust  in  this 
factory,  being  made  from  hard  wood,  is  particularly  harmful. 
One  man  works  constantly  in  the  small  room  where  the  dust  from 
the  blowers  is  emptied  into  bags.  Although  the  air  of  the  cham- 
ber is  thick,  this  man  wears  no  respirator.  He  depends  on  chew- 
ing tobacco  to  keep  his  throat  moist. 

LAUNDRIES. 

The  laundry  industry  ranks  sixth  in  the  total  number  of  work- 
ers employed,  and  is  the  second  largest  employer  of  women.  The 
only  trade  employing  a  greater  number  of  women  is  that  of  print- 
ing. Since  77.4  per  cent  of  the  workers  in  laundries  are  females, 
it  may  be  said  that  this  trade  is  still  a  woman's  job. 

All  motor  or  steam  laundries,  that  is  —  laundries  which  use 
power-driven  machines  for  washing,  starching,  or  ironing  —  were 
visited.  There  are  14  of  these  establishments,  representing  a 
large  proportion  of  the  motor  laundries  in  New  York  City.  Ac- 
cording to  the  Federal  Laundry  Report  of  1911,  <:  20  motor  power 
laundries  may  be  said  to  do  practically  the  bulk  of  the  washing 
in  New  York  City.  The  largest  number  of  women  employed  in 
one  laundry  was  200,  in  several  others  the  number  reached  150, 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  ABEA.  339 

and  elsewhere  it  ranged  from  9  to  50."  The  largest  establishment 
inspected  usually  employs  177,  but  during  the  summer  rush  has 
as  many  as  225  workers.  Three  employ  more  than  75  workers, 
and  the  smallest  establishment  has  7  workers. 

Practically  every  branch  and  grade  of  laundry  work  is  repre- 
sented. One  of  the  largest  establishments  does  Pullman  car,  steam- 
ship, hotel  and  restaurant  work.  Two  are  waiters'  and  barbers' 
supply  laundries.  One  does  rough  dry  work  for  the  small  hand- 
laundry  trade,  and  one  specializes  in  flat  work.  Still  another 
launders  shirts  and  collars  for  high-class  custom  shirt-makers  who 
have  shops  along  Fifth  Avenue.  Five  of  the  total  1-t  cater  to 
family  trade. 

Only  a  few  of  the  buildings  in  which  the  laundries  are  housed 
are  modern  in  construction.  There  are  none  loss  than  five  nor 
more  than  twenty  years  old.  Only  two  were  designed  for  laundry 
purposes.  The  others  have  been  remodelled  very  slightly  or  rad- 
ically in  accordance  with  the  desire  of  the  occupant.  For  instance, 
one  excellent  plant  occupies  a  building  originally  intended  for 
a  bakery  but  now  well  adapted  for  a  laundry.  Another  is  housed 
on  the  ground  floor  of  an  old  stable,  very  slightly  remodeled  and 
still  a  miserable  place.  In  other  words,  one  finds  every  type  from 
a  model  two-story  plant  having  light  on  all  sides,  movable  sky- 
lights, high,  metal-covered  ceilings,  lunch  room,  a  filter  tank,  ven- 
tilating system  with  exhaust  fans,  hoods  and  pipes,  down  the  scale 
to  a  converted  tenement  or  old,  unsuitable  factory  building.  There 
are  in  all  3  special  factories,  9  loft  buildings,  1  tenement  house, 
and  1  dwelling  house  used  for  laundries. 

All  the  establishments  have  windows  to  the  outer  air  on  at  least 
two  sides,  most  of  them  have  windows  on  more  exposures.  This 
arrangement  secures  cross  ventilation  —  an  indispensable  feature 
in  connection  with  the  heat-producing  processes  of  the  laundries. 
Although  adequate  window  space  is  the  rule,  artificial  light  is 
needed  and  used  in  ten  buildings  —  a  condition  to  be  accounted 
for  in  part  by  the  location  of  the  laundries  in  basements  or  lower 
floors,  and  the  obstruction  of  daylight  by  machinery,  drying  cham- 
bers, shelves  and  bins. 


1  Woman  and  Child  Wage  Earners  in  the  United  States.  Vol.  XII.  Employ- 
ment of  Women  in  Laundries  —  p.  13. 


340         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

On  the  whole,  the  general  cleanliness  of  the  14  laundries  is  fair, 
a  circumstance  not  especially  due  to  the  good  management  of  em- 
ployers, but  rather  to  the  nature  of  the  industry  which  allows  no 
accumulation  of  rubbish  or  dirt.  Neglect  is  more  often  found 
in  the  washroom  which  is  not  kept  properly  dry.  Seventy-six  per 
cent  of  the  force  work  in  clean  or  fairly  clean  workrooms,  24  per 
cent  in  dirty  workrooms. 

The  toilets  are,  on  the  whole,  above  the  average  found  in  other 
industries.  In  two  instances,  they  are  located  in  the  yards,  but 
in  the  other  establishments,  they  are  separated  from  the  workrooms 
by  full-height,  wooden  partitions.  "A"  grade  conditions  prevail 
for  2  per  cent  of  the  men  and  43  per  cent  of  the  women ;  "  B  " 
grade,  for  71  per  cent  of  the  men  and  40  per  cent  of  the  women. 
Twenty-seven  per  cent  of  the  males  and  17  per  cent  of  the  females 
are  affected  by  dirty  or  very  dirty  conditions. 

Accommodations  for  the  men  are  inferior  to  those  for  the 
women.  Fifty-seven  per  cent  of  the  males  and  72  per  cent  of  the 
females  have  adequately  lighted  toilets;  16  per  cent  of  the 
males  and  no  females  are  affected  by  dark  toilets.  Twenty-eight 
per  cent  of  the  males  and  20  per  cent  of  the  females  are  subjected 
to  poorly  ventilated  toilets.  In  one  laundry  the  flush  cisterns 
were  broken  and  their  action  impaired.  Two  establishments  vio- 
lated the  standard  set  that  there  must  be  at  least  one  water  closet 
to  25  workers. 

It  seems  an  irony  of  circumstance  that  46  per  cent  of  laundry 
workers  have  inadequate  washing  facilities.  Fifty-four  per  cent 
are  provided  for  adequately.  Cold  water  is  supplied  for  57  per 
cent,  hot  and  cold  to  43  per  cent.  Towels  were  furnished  to  84 
per  cent  of  the  employees;  there  was  none  or  an  inadequate  sup- 
ply for  16  per  cent.  "  They  can  use  anything  they  find  about," 
one  employer  took  the  trouble  to  explain. 

Since  this  industry  is  one  of  the  largest  employers  of  women, 
the  provision  of  dressing  rooms  is  important.  Laundry  workers, 
more  than  any  other  set  of  employees,  change  their  clothes  on  en- 
tering the  factory.  Many  take  off  their  shoes  —  both  for  comfort 
and  from  motives  of  economy.  Of  the  14  establishments  only  10 
have  dressing  rooms  for  women.  These  have  been  improvised  at 
little  expense,  in  one  case  simply  by  curtaining  off  the  space  under 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  341 

the  stairs.  For  the  most  part  they  are  separated  from  the  work- 
rooms by  dwarf  partitions  of  rough  wood.  Very  few  have  win- 
dows to  the  outer  air.  Shelves,  hooks,  and  an  occasional  chair  are 
the  furnishings.  One  place  supplies  sanitary  lockers.  Four  fac- 
tories have  no  dressing  rooms.  In  one  large  laundry  a  few  nails 
have  been  driven  into  the  walls  of  the  toilets  and  are  supposed 
to  afford  dressing-room  facilities.  Clothes  were  found  hanging 
up  on  the  hooks  and  shoes  were  standing  outside  the  doors.  Ex- 
pressed in  numbers,  81  per  cent  of  the  women  have  dressing-room 
facilities,  and  19  per  cent  are  without  any.  The  situation,  there- 
fore, is  most  unsatisfactory.  If  at  all  intended  for  rest  or  emer- 
gency purposes,  these  rooms  are  hopelessly  inadequate.  They 
afford  little,  if  any,  privacy  or  comfort. 

The  importance  of  pure  drinking  water  cannot  be  over-estimated. 
Excessive  heat  and  steam  of  the  workrooms  and  strenuous  mus- 
cular exertion  create  abnormal  thirst  and  lead  to  an  increase  in 
beer  drinking  if  cold  water  cannot  be  obtained.  Complaint  was 
made  to  the  inspector  in  one  laundry  that  the  water  was  so  bad 
it  could  not  be  drunk.  One  employer  has  filtered  water  and  pro- 
vides ice  in  the  summer  time.  Two  insist  upon  individual  drink- 
ing cups,  another  provides  a  bubbling  fountain  on  each  floor. 

One  plant  has  a  lunch  room,  for  women.  Gas  stoves  for  warm- 
ing lunches,  etc.,  were  found  in  a  few  instances. 

In  considering  the  sanitary  condition  of  laundries  a  description 
of  some  of  the  equipment  and  processes  is  essential,  as  they  directly 
affect  the  health  and  comfort  of  the  workers.  The  preliminary 
processes  of  listing,  marking  and  sorting  are  in  the  majority  of 
cases  performed  by  women.  The  work  of  handling  the  soiled  gar- 
ments is  dirty  and  unpleasant  and  involves  the  possibility  of  con- 
tagion. 

The  washrooms  call  for  especial  notice  since,  under  the  most 
favorable  sanitary  conditions  found,  they  are  not  healthful  places 
for  work.  Wetness  under  foot,  heat,  steam  and  vapor  or  height- 
ened atmospheric  humidity  are  always  present,  although  in  vary- 
ing degrees.  To  be  sure,  good  drainage,  effective  ventilation,  and 
proper  provision  for  escaping  steam  ameliorate  these  conditions, 
but  they  do  not  remove  them  entirely.  It  is  particularly  import- 


342         NOTES  ON  SANITABY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

ant  that  the  washrooms  should  be  completely  separated  from  other 
departments  in  order  that  other  workers  may  not  unnecessarily 
be  subjected  to  these  hardships.  Only  5  washrooms  are  wholly 
separate  from  other  departments.  One  of  the  worst  is  located  in 
a  basement  together  with  the  engines  and  boilers.  The  best  wash- 
room was  found  on  the  top  floor  of  a  factory  —  an  ideal  location 
since  neither  heat  nor  vapor  travel  downward.  In  another  build- 
ing complaint  was  made  by  a  sign  painter  that  steam  came  into 
his  shop  through  the  floor  and  that  the  heat  in  the  summer  time 
was  unbearable. 

All  of  the  washroom  floors  are  made  of  concrete  raised  six  inches 
or  a  foot  above  the  general  flooring.  In  regard  to  the  drainage, 
there  is  the  greatest  diversity  of  construction  and  equipment.  In 
7  washrooms  drainage  is  good;  the  floors  slope  toward  the  gutters 
and  in  some  instances  each  machine  and  extractor  has  its  individ- 
ual drain.  Yet  even  here  dampness  and  occasional  pools  of  waste 
water  are  found  under  foot.  Six  have  flat  or  sunken  floors  with 
streams  of  water  escaping  from  the  washing  machines.  One  has 
a  badly  cracked  and  broken  floor  upon  which  pools  of  water  re- 
main until  swept  away  with  a  broom  into  the  drain.  The  floors 
in  half  the  washrooms  seen  were  wet. 

Wooden  shoes  are  worn  by  the  men  in  some  of  the  better  estab- 
lishments. A  number  wiho  wore  heavy  leather  shoes  complained 
that  the  wooden  ones  hurt  their  feet.  In  the  very  worst  establish- 
ments the  washers  took  no  precaution  whatever  to  keep  their  feet 
dry. 

The  importance  of  ventilation  in  this  department  can  not  be 
overrated.  Heat  and  humidity  may  not  be  as  keenly  felt  in  winter 
as  in  summer,  yet  the  risk  to  the  workers'  health  is  as  great  dur- 
ing the  cold  weather  on  account  of  exposure  to  low  temperatures 
on  leaving  the  laundry.  Mechanical  devices  or  systems  of  venti- 
lation are  necessary  for  the  control  of  humidity  and  temperature. 
Yet  nine  of  the  washrooms  depend  solely  upon  windows  for  venti- 
lation. In  four  of  the  washrooms  there  are  exhaust  fans  placed 
in  the  windows.  Some  of  the  rooms  are  small  and  low-ceiled. 
These  rooms  are  described  as  veritable  infernos  in  summer  by 
employees  who  have  worked  the  year  round  in  them. 


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INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AKEA.  343 

In  two  plants  where  the  machinery  is  modern,  well  maintained, 
and  tended  by  skillful  men,  little  waste  water  is  poured  on  the 
floor,  and  practically  no  escape  of  steam  occurs.  In  12  washrooms 
inadequate  provision  or  none  at  all  is  made  for  escaping  steam. 
Clouds  of  vapor  were  noted  in  some  places  so  thick  as  to  obscure 
the  features  of  the  men. 

The  washers  are  compelled  to  handle  heavy  bundles  of  clothes. 
One  of  the  demands  of  tihe  recent  laundry  strike  was  that  no 
worker  be  required  to  handle  a  bundle  of  clothes  weighing  over  25 
pounds  when  dry.  At  present  there  is  rarely  any  attempt  to  regu- 
late this  weight,  and  prevent  injury  to  the  men  from  lifting  bags 
of  clothes  which  saturation  with  water  has  rendered  dangerously 
heavy. 

At  least  75  per  cent  of  the  workers  are  employed  on  the  mangle 
floor.  Hence,  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  provis;ons  on  this  floor 
are  of  the  utmost  importance.  In  this  room  the  women  stand  all 
•  lay  to  shake  out  the  wet  clothes.  Here  also  are  the  girls  who  tend 
the  mangles,  which  constantly  send  up  heat  and  clouds  of  steam. 
Exhaust  hoods  are  practically  indispensable  if  temperature  and 
humidity  are  to  be  regulated.  Yet  only  one  plant  has  an  equip- 
ment of  mangle  hoods,  with  an  exhaust  to  draw  off  the  steam  as 
it  rises  directly  from  the  machine.  In  this  room,  125  women  are 
working.  In  another  plant,  skylights  or  exhaust  fans  are  fairly 
effective.  Even  here  temperature  varies  from  70  to  75  degrees 
in  winter.  Exhaust  fans  are  installed  in  three  other  mangle  rooms, 
but  they  are  ineffective  and  scatter  the  rising  steam  and  do  not 
successfully  remove  the  moisture  and  heat.  In  nine  of  the  laun- 
dries no  provision  is  made  for  mechanical  ventilation.  Drying 
chambers  in  some  places  aggravate  conditions.  Only  one  plant 
equips  its  dryers  with  suction  hoods.  In  one  mangle  room  there 
is  a  constant  draft  from  large  doors  opening  on  the  street.  In 
two  of  the  plants  the  rooms  are  fairly  misty  with  steam  and  yet 
so  cold  that  women  have  to  wear  wraps.  Under  these  conditions 
can  the  predisposition  to  pulmonary  trouble  and  rheumatism  be 
doubted  ? 

In  four  laundries  which  handle  waiters'  and  barbers'  supplies 
the  body  ironer  is  used.  The  other  dangerous  elements  in  the 
laundries  appear  of  minor  significance  in  comparison  with  the 


344:         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

wreckage  wrought  by  these  machines.  The  majority  of  the  opera- 
tors are  women.  The  body-ironing  machine  has  sometimes  a  sin- 
gle, and  sometimes  a  double,  treadle.  In  using  the  latter,  the  oper- 
ator presses  with  the  left  foot  on  one  treadle  heavily  enough  to 
lift  the  lower  roll  into  close  contact  with  the  upper.  To  reverse 
the  motion  of  the  upper  roll  the  second  treadle  must  be  pressed  by 
the  right  foot.  These  two  motions  must  be  repeated  until  the  gar- 
ment is  ironed.  It  was  found  by  actual  count  that  one  woman 
at  the  reversible  machine  made  63  foot  motions  a  minute ;  another 
was  speeded  up  to  81  motions  a  minute;  a  girl  at  the  single-lever 
machine  made  60  motions.  To  relieve  her  feet  one  woman  wore 
soft  bedroom  slippers ;  another  had  taken  her  shoes  off.  The  man- 
ager said  that  in  summer  time  practically  all  work  in  stocking 
feet. 

The  reversible  body-ironer  is  obviously  harmful  to  the  operator 
for  it  involves  a  constant  pelvic  jerk.  An  improvised  platform 
is  placed  in  front  of  each  machine  enabling  the  operator  to  step 
down  upon  the  treadles.  This  plan,  although  it  facilitates  the 
process,  relieves  the  operator  but  slightly.  She  is  required  to  ex- 
ert a  great  and  constant  muscular  force  besides?  the  pelvic  jerk 
which  is  so  dangerous.  Few  of  the  operators  can  control  them- 
selves to  such  an  extent  that  they  bring  into  play  only  the  muscles 
absolutely  needed.  Most  of  them  work  with  set,  tense  faces,  using 
their  whole  bodies  —  swinging  and  jerking  their  heads  and  trunks. 
One  young  Irish  girl  who  has  done  this  work  for  six  years  has 
pelvic  trouble,  looks  extremely  anaemic  and  complains  of  having 
no  appetite.  She  told  the  inspector  that  she  had  lost  50  pounds 
since  she  began.  The  majority  of  these  operators  look  haggard, 
worn-out,  and  exhausted.  To  add  to  its  dangers,  body-ironing  is 
usually  piece-work  and  associated  with  all  the  evils  of  speeding. 

The  risk  of  accident  is  ever-present.  The  operator  must  be 
alert  not  to  have  her  fingers  crushed  between  the  rolls.  Another 
element  of  danger  lies  in  the  fumes  of  the  gas  which  heats  the 
rolls.  Only  one  plant  has  equipped  its  body-ironer  with  exhaust 
hoods.  The  inspector  was  told,  as  a  particularly  significant  and 
gratifying  fact,  that  there  was  not  a  single  case  of  heat  prostration 
at  the  body-ironer  during  the  past  summer. 


No.  10. —  A  body  ironing  machine  without  hood  and  forced  ventilation. 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  345 

In  one  laundry,  so-called  "  scientific  management "  is  main- 
tained throughout  the  departments.  The  following  is  an  example 
of  problems  which  have  been  worked  out  by  experts  in  the  office. 
"If  10  women  shake  6,925  towels  in  five  hours,  how  many  towels 
can  one  woman  shake  in  one  hour  ? "  In  this  way  an  average  of 
capacity  is  obtained  and  standards  are  set  for  different  processes. 
The  workers  are  probably  unconscious  of  how  it  is  done,  but 
they  feel  that  some  power  is  speeding  them  ahead.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  the  experts  are  studying  the  fatigue  of  the  workers 
and  apportioning  rest  periods  so  as  to  prevent  over-exertion. 

Standing  is  a  constant  evil  in  laundries.  Seats  are  provided 
in  all  of  these  establishments  but  are  seldom  used.  A  feeder  on 
being  questioned  said  she  could  not  work  as  well  sitting  down. 
This  is  probably  quite  true  where  three  to  six  women  are  crowded 
together  at  the  feeding  apron  of  the  mangle  as  was  the  fact  in 
this  case.  Sitting,  at  least  part  of  the  time,  should  be  compulsory. 
By  the  exercise  of  a  little  thought  and  ingenuity,  occupations  could 
be  alternated  and  the  capacity  of  operators  need  not  be  lessened. 

In  a  word,  machine  washing  and  ironing,  as  it  is  carried  on 
in  the  motor  laundries  visited,  retains  all  the  worst  features  of 
domestic  drudgery  and  adds  the  further  evils  of  long  hours,  speed- 
ing and  dangerously  unhealthful  conditions. 

CANDY  AND  FOOD  PRODUCTS. 

This  industry  ranks  seventh  in  the  district,  and  third  in  number 
of  women  employed.  It  includes  seven  candy  factories  and  five 
plants  making  other  foods  such  as  artificial  ice,  or  packing  dry 
groceries.  The  12  establishments  employ  517  workers,  of  whom 
49.5%  are  men,49.9%  women,  and  .6%  children.  As  83%  of  all 
the  workers  in  the  food  industry  are  in  the  candy  trade,  the  condi- 
tions in  the  candy  factories  are  especially  considered  and  emphasized 
in  the  following  report 

No  establishment  in  this  district  occupies  a  plant  which  in  any 
way  approaches  the  standard  set  by  the  largest  candy  factories  in 
the  city. 

Of  the  12  establishments  inspected,  7  are  housed  in  special  fac- 
tories, 3  are  in  lofts,  1  is  in  a  dwelling,  and  1  in  a  tenement.  The 


346 


NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


floors  occupied  range  from  1  to  7.  In  the  workrooms,  conditions 
are  reported  as  fairly  clean  for  78%  of  the  employees,  and  dirty  or 
very  dirty  for  22%. 

There  are  42  water  closets  in  the  12  food  preparation  establish- 
ments. Two  are  in  the  yard.  Of  the  others,  37,  or  92%,  are  com- 
pletely separated  from  the  shop;  3,  or  7.5%,  are  shut  off  by  a 
dwarf  partition  only.  Seventy  per  cent  have  outside  windows, 
which  does  not  necessarily  mean  good  ventilation,  and 
30%  have  no  outside  windows.  In  two  places  the  separation 
of  men's  from  women's  water  closets  is  inadequate:  in  one  they 
open  off  a  common  vestibule;  in  the  other,  off  tihe  same  dressing 
room. 

The  water  closet  accommodations  are  generally  poor,  but  those 
for  men  are  markedly  inferior  to  those  for  women  in  respect  to 
light  and  ventilation.  Dark  or  semi-dark  closets  are  in  use  by  47% 
of  the  males  and  15%  of  the  females.  Poor  ventilation  of  closets 
is  reported  for  31%  of  the  males  and  17%  of  the  females. 

The  grade  of  cleanliness  of  the  men's  closets  is  far  below  that 
of  the  women's.  Dirty  conditions  are  reported  for  4-3%  of  the 
males  and  for  only  16%  of  the  females.  The  men  are  naturally 
more  careless  than  the  women  as  regards  cleanliness  and  the 
poorer  accommodations  provided  for  them  in  this  trade  do  not  en- 
courage tidiness. 

The  washing  facilities  are  very  poor.  The  following  table  shows 
the  number  and  percentage  of  workers  affected  by  the  inadequacy 
of  the  water  and  towel  supply: 

TABLE   VII. 


FACILITIES 

Number  of 
Workers 
Affected 

Per  cent  of 
Workers 
Affected 

TU             (  Hot  provided  ..           

201 

38  9 

*    1  Cold  only  provided  

316 

61.1 

517 
106 

100  0 
20  5 

VELS^  Inadequate  number  or  none  supplied  

411 

79  5 

517 

100.0 

The  lack  of  hot  water  and  towels  is  insanitary  not  only  from 
the  point  of  view  of  the  employee's  welfare,  but  also  from  that  of 
the  consuming  public.  The  inspector  has  seen  a  candy  maker  in 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  347 

a  large  factory  dry  his  hands  on  a  burlap  bag  which  was  the  only 
available  substitute  for  a  towel  and  then  go  back  to  his  candy  mak- 
ing. In  this  factory  other  conditions  correspond.  The  workers 
have  no  standard  of  cleanliness.  The  inspector  has  seen  a  man 
flatten  out  a  large  ball  of  candy  by  sitting  on  it  and  bouncing 
up  and  down,  dressed  in  overalls  that  were  none  too  clean;  an- 
other worker  was  seen  to  pick  up  lumps  that  bad  dropped  upon 
a  dirty  floor  and  knead  them  in  with  the  rest  of  the  oandy. 

In  only  one  factory  is  there  any  attempt  to  make  all  the  workers 
wear  white  ca.ps  and  aprons.  In  this  shop  fresh  ones  are  pro- 
vided every  day,  and  they  are  worn  regularly.  But  this  candy 
department  employs  only  39  workers  out  of  our  430  in  the  candy 
factories.  In  the  other  places  caps  and  aprons  are  worn  by  some 
of  the  workers,  but  they  are  in  all  stages  of  cleanliness  and  of  dirt. 

Dressing  rooms  are  generally  provided,  but  they  are  usually  very 
small — .scarcely  more  than  coat  closets.  Of  the  women,  238,  or 
92%,  have  the  use  of  these,  8%  have  no  dressing  rooms  to  use  at 
all. 

In  the  local  candy  factories  there  are  many  sources  of  fatigue 
and  of  actual  danger  which  could  be  removed  by  better  management. 

The  ordinary  ventilation  is  inadequate,  as  the  air  is  stuffy  and 
stale,  and  even  in  mild  weather  windows  are  seldom  opened.  No 
simple  devices  such  as  window  boards  or  boxes  were  found. 

There  are  a  number  of  processes  in  the  packing  departments  of 
the  groceries  which  call  for  special  ventilating  systems  or  exhausts, 
such  as  the  packing  of  pepper  and  bottling  of  ammonia.  On  13 
out  of  35  floors  where  there  are  workers,  such  systems  or  exhausts 
are  needed.  But  the  chief  danger  to  health  is  exposure  to  heat 
and  cold  or  to  abrupt  changes  in  temperature. 

In  the  candy  factories  the  steam  from  the  cooking  kettles  is  usu- 
ally carried  away  by  hoods  and  exhaust  pipes.  But  this  has  little 
eifect  upon  the  heat,  which  is  intense  in  the  cooking  rooms.  In  only 
one  factory  is  there  a  satisfactory  system  for  regulating  the  tempera- 
ture. In  one  or  two  of  the  others  there  are  vacuum  fans,  but  the 
thermometer  in  one  of  these  rooms  ranged  from  83  degrees  to  86 
degrees.  "Where  a  chocolate  room  adjoins  the  cooking  room  and  the 
workers  are  obliged  to  pass  frequently  from  chilled  to  highly  heated 
temperatures,  the  risk  is  serious.  The  chocolate  rooms  are  generally 


348         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

cooled  by  refrigerating  pipes,  and  their  temperature  is  sometimes  as 
low  as  60  degrees.  This  is  unnecessarily  cold;  from  65  degrees  to 
fi8  degrees  is  said  by  experts  in  the  trade  to  be  perfectly  satisfactory. 
The  lower  temperature  may  seem  comfortable  for  a  short  time,  bur 
it  is  found  to  be  chilling  when  the  worker  sits  from  ten  to  twelve 
hours  without  exercise.  Many  of  the  girls  complain  of  this  hardship. 
They  wear  shawls  or  sweaters.  When  they  rest  their  feet  on 
asphalt  floors  they  feel  the  cold  particularly.  One  girl  was  made 
ill  by  this  kind  of  work,  and  was  in  a  hospital  under  treatment 
for  rheumatism  of  the  heart  and  general  nervous  breakdown.  The 
doctors  say  that  her  illness  was  caused  by  long  hours  of  work  under 
these  adverse  conditions.  When  evening  work  is  required  till 
9  p.  m.,  which  is  often  the  case,  or  night  work,  the  risk  to  health 
is  obvious.  All  such  special  exposures  to  extremes  of  temperature 
need  to  be  carefully  studied,  and  while  they  may  not  be  injurious 
to  some  workers,  the  girls  who  would  suffer  from  such  employment 
ought  to  be  weeded  out  by  a  physical  examination. 

In  the  candy  factories  much  of  the  women's  work  is  done  stand- 
ing. In  one  factory  27  bonbon  dippers  (45%  of  the  women)  stand 
continuously.  Here  the  proprietor  told  the  inspector  that  the  girls 
refuse  to  sit  down  when  seats  are  provided,  as  the  dipping  requires 
a  particular  swaying  motion  of  the  body  which  is  only  possible  in 
a  standing  position.  A  more  plausible  explanation  is  found  in  the 
fact  that  his  dipping  tables  were  much  too  high.  In  all  the  other 
factories  inspected,  ,the  dippers  sit  at  their  work. 

Packing  candy,  moreover,  usually  requires  constant  standing  or 
moving  about.  In  packing  the  higher  grades  of  candy,  each  girl 
has  a  long  table  on  which  are  spread  out  several  rows  of  empty 
boxes,  with  one  filled  box  at  the  end  to  serve  as  a  model.  She 
then  takes  a  handful  of  candies  from  a  large  box,  containing  only 
one  kind,  and  moves  along  the  line,  putting  one  in  the  same  relative 
place  in  each  box.  The  same  thing  is  repeated  with  each  kind  that 
goes  in,  till  the  box  is  filled.  The  "  spread  "  is  then  completed, 
the  boxes  are  closed  and  carried  to  the  wrapping  table;  and  a  new 
"  spread  "  of  empty  boxes  is  arranged  on  the  packing  table.  Occa- 
sionally the  packers  also  wrap  the  boxes,  and  so  can  sit  down  at 
intervals  at  the  wrapping  tables,  but  this  is  rare. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA. 


349 


One  machine  was  found  which  enables  the  packer  to  sit.  It  is  a 
kind  of  Ferris  wheel  on  which  the  "  spread  "  of  empty  boxes  is  ar- 
ranged ;  and  the  packer  sits  before  this  wheel  except  when  the  filled 
boxes  are  removed  and  replaced  by  empty  ones.  As  only  one  such 
wheel  was  found,  and  that  was  in  a  large  packing  room  where  the 
girls  had  to  take  turns  in  using  it,  the  help  it  gave  was  slight.  One 
way  of  relieving  the  packer  would  be  to  make  the  "  spread  "  smaller 
so  that  it  would  be  within  reach  of  the  person  who  is  seated;  or 
possibly  some  sort  of  revolving  table  or  a  carrier  or  a  sliding  seat 
could  be  devised. 

One  factory  in  this  district  is  exceptional  in  that  practically  all 
the  women  sit.  They  wrap  the  individual  pieces  of  candy  in  oiled 
paper  and  place  them  directly  in  large  boxes.  Omitting  this  special 
factory  there  are  172  women  employed  in  the  local  trade,  of  whom 
118,  or  68.6%,  stand  constantly.  When  the  day's  work  extends 
to  12  hours  on  three  days  a  week,  as  is  often  the  case  in  the  rush 
season,  the  strain  is  altogether  too  great. 

Nationality  statistics  were  collected  from  all  the  women  in  the 
seven  candy  establishments  and  from  practically  all  the  men.  The 
following  table  shows  the  nationalities  represented  by  number  and 
proportion. 

TABLE    VIII. 
NUMBEII  EMPLOYEES  IN  CANDY  FACTORIES  ACCORDING  TO  SEX  AND  NATIONALITY 


Italian 
and 
Italian 
American 

American 

Irish 
and 
Irish 
American 

German 
and 
German 
American 

All  other 
National- 
ities 

Total 

Men  

169 

1 

2 

6 

24 

202 

Women  

120 

46 

34 

25 

20 

245 

Total  number  

289 

47 

36 

31 

44 

447 

Total  per  cent  

64.65 

10.52 

8.05 

6.94 

9.84 

100 

This  shows  how  far  the  Italians  have  invaded  this  industry,  as 
they  constitute  64.65  of  all  the  workers.  These  figures  are  the 
more  significant  in  that  the  Italians  do  not  form  a  large  percentage 
of  the  population  of  the  neighborhood. 

BAKERIES. 

In  making  the  bakery  inspections,  two  things  were  kept  in 
mind:  conditions  as  they  affect  the  workers  and  conditions  as 


350         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

they  affect  the  consumers  of  the  bake-shop  products.  The  bakeries 
are  unique  among  the  industries  studied,  inasmuch  as  85%  of 
them  sell  all  their  product  right  on  the  premises. 

Sixty  bakeries  were  inspected  employing  266  workers.  In  all 
but  two  shops,  the  working  force  numbered  less  than  eight.  Of 
the  two  larger  bakeries,  one  employed  18  and  the  other  32  men. 

With  but  three  exceptions,  all  the  shops  are  located  in  cellars 
of  tenements.  Concrete  floors,  the  most  desirable  floor  for  bak- 
eries, were  found  in  33%  of  the  shops,  and  wood  on  concrete  in 
40% ;  the  remaining  27%  consisted  of  varying  combinations  of 
wood  and  concrete.  Many  of  them  were  worn  and  broken  so 
that  it  is  impossible  to  keep  them  clean.  But  even  where  the 
floors  were  intact,  a  clean  one  was  a  rare  find.  In  two  shops, 
water  was  seeping  through  the  walls.  In  one  of  these,  a  small 
drain  had  been  cut  across  the  cement  floor  leading  into  an  unused 
cellar  where  a  cess-pool  received  the  waste.  The  stench  arising 
from  this  pool  was  as  bad  as  any  noted  in  the  worst-conditioned 
water  closets. 

The  walls  and  ceilings  are  badly  neglected.  The  walls,  of  brick 
or  stone,  roughly  plastered  or  simply  white-washed,  form  a  rough 
surface  difficult  to  keep  clean.  Dirt  and  cob-webs  cling  to  it,  and 
in  some  places,  even  spatterings  of  dough  were  found. 

The  white-wash  on  the  walls  and  ceilings  in  many  cases  had  not 
been  properly  renewed  and  was  peeling  off  above  the  kneading 
troughs. 

Fair  conditions  of  cleanliness  are  reported  only  for  the  three 
shops  not  in  cellars.  These  employ  40  workers,  or  15%.  Of  the 
others,  134,  or  50%,  work  in  dirty  stoops,  and  92,  or  35%,  in  very 
dirty  ones. 

The  windows  are  small  and  dirty.  Twenty-two  per  cent  of  the 
shops  have  nothing  that  may  even  serve  as  a  window.  Artificial 
light  by  day  is  necessary  in  all  but  two  of  the  shops.  An  open  gas 
flame  is  found  in  every  shop  and  helps  to  consume  the  all  too- 
limited  oxygen  supply  in  the  cellar  rooms.  Even  where  electric 
lights  are  used,  gas  lights  are  found  near  the  ovens. 

If  lighting  is  poor  in  the  cellar  bake-shops,  ventilation  is  even 
poorer.  The  only  special  means  of  ventilation  found  was  in  a 
shop  where  an  electric  fan  was  used  to  freshen  the  air.  The  low 


INDUSTRIAL,  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AHEA. 


351 


ceilings  contribute  a  great  deal  to  the  bad  air  conditions.     The 
shops  were  divided  as  to  height  of  ceilings  as  follows: 

HEIGHT  OF  CEILINGS 


Less 
than 
7  ft. 

7  and 
8ft. 

8  and 
Oft. 

9  and 
10ft. 

10ft. 
and 
over 

Un- 
known 

Total 

1 

5 

28 

21 

4 

1 

60 

Ten  per  cent  are  less  than  8  feet  and  57  %  less  than  9  feet. 

The  temperature  was  also  recorded.  The  highest  reported  was 
88  F.  Ten  per  cent  of  the  shops  were  above  80  F.  and  33  c/o  were 
below  70  F.,  ranging  down  to  59  F.  The  most  serious  feature  of 
the  temperature  conditions  is  not  excessive  heat  or  cold,  but  sud- 
den changes  from  one  to  the  other.  The  shop  gets  too  hot  for 
comfort  and  the  door  is  thrown  open,  allowing  the  cold  air  to  rush 
in  upon  the  men  who  are  always  scantily  clothed. 

The  air  is  also  vitiated  by  the  cooking  done.  Pastry  is  made 
in  87%  of  the  shops.  This  means  that  the  odor  of  frying  oil 
hangs  always  in  the  air.  Many  of  the  ovens  have  poor  drafts 
and  fill  the  shop  with  coal-gas  at  each  firing-up.  With  five  excep- 
tions, all  the  shops  fire  their  ovens  inside.  One  has  gas  ovens  and 
four  fire  underneath.  The  bad  air  conditions  arising  from  the 
several  causes  given  can  not  be  removed  by  ventilation  from  the 
street.  The  bakery  is  underground  and  any  attempt  to  introduce 
air  from  the  ground-level  in  front  simply  results  in  admitting  to 
the  shop  sweepings  from  the  pavements. 

The  majority  of  the  water  closet  apartments  are  completely 
separate  from  the  shop.  Even  where  they  are  contiguous  the 
separation  is  adequate.  However,  two  were  found  in  store-rooms 
with  no  enclosure  whatever.  Taken  as  a  whole,  ventilation  is 
good  and  light  fair  —  conditions  which  are  due  to  the  fact  that 
most  of  the  closets  are  located  in  the  yard.  But  26%  are  dark 
or  semi-dark;  15%  are  insufficiently  ventilated;  35%  are  dirty, 
or  very  dirty. 


352         NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

In  all  the  shops  but  one,  the  men  have  only  the  sink  for  wask- 
ing.  One  place  has  two  shower  baths,  which,  evidently,  are  not 
used,  as  the  inspector  noted  that  they  were  covered  with  cobwebs. 
Only  two  places  were  found  with  really  clean  sinks;  tihe  others 
were  repulsively  dirty.  In  a  few,  towels  were  noted,  but  they 
were  extremely  dirty. 

The  provision  of  special  dressing-rooms  is  as  follows:  in  7% 
of  the  shops  the  bakers  live  upstairs  and  change  in  their  rooms 
before  going  down;  in  5%,  dressing-rooms  are  provided;  in  35% 
lockers  only,  but  no  dressing-rooms  are  provided;  in  48%  neither 
lockers  nor  dressing-rooms;  and  5%  are  unreported.  Thus  about 
half  the  shops  are  without  dressing-rooms  of  any  sort.  This  means 
that  clothes  and  shoes  were  left  standing  about  the  room. 

About  44%  of  the  shops  provided  cuspidors,  but  in  only  8% 
were  they  found  to  be  in  use.  When  the  inspector  inquired 
about  them,  they  were  usually  dragged  out  from  the  corners,  or 
from  under  boxes  or  barrels. 

Power-driven  machinery  was  found  in  but  22%  of  the  shops. 
By  actual  count,  21  pieces  of  such  machinery  were  found  in  60 
bakeries. 

Cats  were  seen  in  practically  every  shop.  In  two  shops  litters 
of  kittens  were  being  raised.  No  windows  are  screened  for  flies, 
but  as  the  inspections  were  made  in  winter,  few  flies  were  dis- 
covered. In  seven  shops  cock-roaches  were  conspicuous.  The  so- 
called  "  Baker's  Souls  "  or  "  silver  bugs  "  were  seen  in  every  shop 
except  the  one  using  gas  ovens. 

In  90%  of  the  places  the  materials  for  baking  are  stored  right 
in  the  shops.  In  47%,  flour  is  kept  in  burlap  sacks  with  no  other 
protection,  and  cats  were  found  sleeping  on  them.  In  45%  of  the 
shops  the  material  was  found  flat  on  the  floor  and  in  about  the 
same  number  tihe  barrels  and  boxes  had  no  cover  whatever.  From 
the  time  a  barrel  of  cooking  oil  is  broached  until  it  is  used  up, 
it  stands  an  open  trap  for  unwary  flies  and  cock-roaches.  In  one 
place  an  old  coat,  hung  upon  a  nail,  trailed  actually  into  the 
cocoanut  supply. 

All  the  workers  are  male  except  two  women  who  are  employed 
as  demonstrators  of  special  gas  ovens.  No  boys  under  16  are  em- 
ployed. Ten  per  cent  of  the  men  are  45  years  and  over.  They 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AUEA.  353 

are  divided  as  to  nationality  u>  follows:  German,  67%  ;  Austrian, 
9%;  Italian,  8%;  other  nationalities,  16%. 

Of  the  60  shops.  47.  representing  71%  of  the  workers,  employ 
non-union  men  only;  4,  representing  11%,  both  non-union  and 
union;  15,  representing  18%,  only  union  men. 

Most  of  the  bakers  claimed  to  work  only  10  hours  a  day  and 
6  days  a  week.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they  generally  have  no  regu- 
lar time  to  quit.  Ordinarily  they  begin  at  the  scheduled  time, 
and  quit  when  they  finish  —  be  it  10  hours  or  14  hours  later.  Two 
or  three  of  the  largest  shops  work  Sundays,  but  they  claim  that 
they  have  enough  men  to  allow  each  one  day  off  in  seven. 

As  the  majority  of  the  shops  have  two  shifts  and  ordinarily  only 
one  shift  was  inspected,  the  reports  on  the  physical  appearance 
of  workers  is  based  on  the  number  actually  seen  and  information 
obtained  from  the  workers  regarding  those  absent. 

Smoking  was  reported  in  but  25%  of  the  shops  and  chewing 
in  8%.  The  use  of  tobacco  was  reported  only  where  it  was  actu- 
ally seen  or  the  men  admitted  the  habit.  Some  of  them  tried  to 
conceal  the  fact  that  they  used  it  in  the  shop;  others  seemed  not 
to  know  that  it  is  illegal.  However,  as  the  majority  of  the  work- 
ers in  question  are  Germans  and  they  are  little  given  to  the  habit, 
the  low  percentage  reported  is  probably  correct. 

Beer  drinking  seemed  commoner.  Only  five  shops  were  met 
with  where  it  was  said  that  none  of  the  men  drank  beer.  Lunch 
is  eaten  in  the  shops  and  beer  is  almost  invariably  an  accompani- 
ment. The  lunch  hour  is  irregular;  the  men  eat  when  they  feel 
hungry  and  can  leave  their  work  for  a  few  minutes. 

All  the  workers  change  their  clothes  on  going  into  the  shop, 
though  few  make  a  complete  change.  The  men  seemed  to  consider 
this  necessary  not  from  sanitary  reasons  or  consideration  for  the 
consumer,  but  from  a  desire  not  to  carry  the  strong  bakery  odor 
on  their  clothes  when  they  leave  the  shop.  The  working  clothes 
seen  were,  on  the  whole,  extremely  dirty. 

The  danger  to  consumers,  needless  to  say,  arises  from  the  ap- 
palling lack  of  sanitary  conditions  under  which  bread  stuff  is  pro- 
duced. Not  only  are  the  quarters  dirty  and  insanitary,  but  the 
habits  of  the  men  are  careless,  at  their  best,  and  revolting,  at  their 
worst.  They  wash  their  hands  but  rarely.  After  firing  the  oven, 
12 


354         NOTES  ON  SANITAEY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

even  after  handling  coal  and  floor  sweepings,  they  were  seen  to 
return  to  the  kneading  trough  without  so  much  as  wiping  their 
hands,  except  possibly  on  their  dirty  trousers.  One  man  took 
great  pride  in  showing  a  litter  of  kittens  he  was  raising  in  the 
shop.  After  handling  the  kittens,  he  returned  to  the  kneading 
trough  without  washing  his  hands.  Another  man,  who  was  suf- 
fering from  a  cold  in  the  head,  went  about  his  work  absolutely 
unprovided  with  a  pocket  handkerchief. 

In  one  of  the  shops,  a  pastry  worker  who  was  decorating  a  cake 
with  jelly,  was  observed  to  pour  out  the  jelly  on  a  sheet  of  dirty 
paste-board,  hastily  snatched  from  the  floor  for  the  purpose,  and 
afterwards  to  scrape  the  jelly  from  this  paper  into  the  original 
supply. 

In  transferring  the  dough  from  the  troughs  to  the  kneading 
boards,  the  men  often  rest  the  mass  against  their  bodies,  or  rather, 
against  their  clothing,  which,  as  has  been  remarked,  looks  as  if 
it  were  seldom  washed.  In  one  rather  pretentious  shop,  catering 
to  a  high-class  trade,  all  the  men  were  stripped  to  the  waist,  and 
in  carrying  the  dough  they  rested  it  against  their  naked  bodies. 

One  of  the  crudest  things  witnessed  occurred  in  the  preparation 
of  the  so-called  "  Vienna  "  loaf  for  the  oven.  From  nine  to  t  \velve 
loaves  are  placed  on  a  large  paddle ;  the  slits  are  then  made  with 
a  thin-bladed  knife,  and  the  loaves  slipped  into  the  oven.  In  not 
less  than  three  shops  the  men  were  observed  to  keep  the  blades 
of  their  slitting  knives  in  their  mouths  while  they  were  slipping 
one  paddle  of  loaves  into  the  oven  and  filling  it  up  again.  The 
men  claimed  that  it  made  the  knife  cut  better. 

From  the  standpoint  of  the  workers,  the  chief  danger  is  the 
gradual  undermining  of  health  which  naturally  follows  under  con- 
ditions of  the  sort  described.  Lack  of  proper  light  and  ventila- 
tion, long  hours,  night  work,  and  uncertain  temperature  caused 
by  the  method  of  ventilation  —  these  things  can  only  result  in 
lowering  the  vitality  of  those  subjected  to  them. 

Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  local  bakeries  do  not  possess  power- 
driven  machinery  to  any  extent,  the  very  serious  danger  of  acci- 
dent from  this  source  will  not  be  considered  in  this  report.  On 
the  other  hand,  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  the  insidious  dangers 
to  health  which  result  from  doing  this  kind  of  work  in  cramped, 


03    QJ 


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-20 


-Si 


I 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.      3,55 

airless,  underground  quarters  are  especially  characteristic  of  the 
bakeries  in  the  district. 

GARMENTS  AM>  TEXTILES. 

The  textile  trades,  which  formed  the  chief  occupation  of  women 
on  the  West  Side  twenty  years  ago,  have  greatly  declined  in  im- 
portance. Only  2  weaving  mills  were  found.  These,  together 
with  the  embroidery,  garment  and  costume-making  shops  in- 
spected, make  up  the  11  establishments  included  in  this  group. 
Although  women  predominate,  constituting  60%  of  the  254  work- 
ers employed,  they  are  numerically  fourth  in  importance,  com- 
pared with  printing,  laundries,  and  candy-making  respectively. 

Fairly  clean  work-rooms  are  reported  for  138,  or  55%,  of  the 
employees,  and  dirty  work-rooms  for  116,  or  45%.  Water  closets 
are  reported  as  dirty  for  17%  of  the  men  and  the  same  percentage 
of  the  women.  The  proportion  of  workers,  male  and  female,  that 
have  badly  lighted  water  closet  apartments  is  also  17%.  This 
correspondence  in  percentages  indicates  the  connection  between 
darkness  and  dirt  in  these  places  already  mentioned  in  this  report. 

One  establishment  has  only  1  water  closet  for  54  female  em- 
ployees. 

The  provision  of  washing  facilities  is  inadequate  for  38%  of 
the  employees.  Towels  are  supplied  for  97%  of  the  workers. 

Ninety  per  cent  of  the  women  have  the  use  of  a  separate  dress- 
ing room  or  wash  room;  only  5%  have  clothes  lockers. 

In  all  the  weaving  factories,  artificial  light  by  day  is  necessary. 
The  electric  lights  above  the  warping  mills,  or  frames,  are  usually 
above  eye-level,  but  the  lights  over  the  looms  are  so  arranged  as  to 
shine  directly  into  the  weaver's  eyes,  unless  of  his  own  initiative 
he  protects  them  by  a  close-fitting  shade. 

STONE,  CLAY  AND  GLASS. 

The  stone,  clay  and  glass-making  trades,  which  have  the  com- 
mon element  of  being  dust-producing  occupations  are  represented 
by  7  establishments.  They  give  employment  to  213  male  work- 
ers, one  of  them  being  a  boy  under  sixteen. 


356          NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

Of  these,  72,  or  34%,  work  in  fairly  clean  places.  In  estimat- 
ing the  cleanliness  of  the  shop-rooms,  allowance  was  made  for  the 
presence  of  an  unavoidable  amount  of  waste.  Places  were  only 
classed  as  dirty  when  waste  had  been  allowed  to  accumulate  and 
neglected  conditions  prevailed.  Of  the  workers,  118,  or  56%,  are 
engaged  in  shops  of  this  character,  and  22,  or  10%,  work  in 
rooms  where  the  floors  are  in  a  state  of  filth.  Forty-four  per  cent 
of  the  workers  have  fairly  clean  water  closets  and  56%,  dirty 
ones.  The  lighting  of  the  water  closets  in  these  trades  is  espe- 
cially poor,  72%  of  the  men  being  subjected  to  semi-dark  water 
closet  apartments.  Sixty-five  workers,  or  35%,  have  inadequate 
washing  facilities.  Fourteen  per  cent  have  cold  water  only  for 
washing,  and  37%  have  no  towels. 

One  factory  produces  fire-proof  tiles.  Apparently  no  effort  is 
made  here  to  remove  the  gritty  dust  which  accumulates  indefi- 
nitely on  the  earthen  floor.  The  installation  of  a  concrete  floor 
which  could  be  cleaned  up  would  be  a  great  improvement.  The 
air  is  permeated  with  coal-gas  from  the  kilns. 

It  has  no  system  for  ventilating  and  cooling  the  ovens,  although 
in  many  other  factories  of  this  kind  there  is  a  blower  which  forces 
air  through  a  pipe  from  the  outside  into  the  ovens.  Manifestly 
a  factory  of  this  kind  is  out  of  place  in  a  crowded  city.  This  par- 
ticular factory  is  a  survival  from  an  earlier,  less  populous  period 
in  the  district,  and  continues  in  the  city  although  it  must  bring 
its  raw  material  by  canal  boats  from  New  Jersey. 

In  another  factory  where  mirrors  are  made,  the  dust  present  is 
due  to  red  rouge,  an  oxide  of  iron  used  for  polishing,  which  though 
not  inherently  poisonous,  is  exceedingly  irritating  to  the  respira- 
tory tracts. 

MINERAL  AND  SODA  WATERS. 

Twelve  establishments,  of  which  9  are  engaged  in  the  bottling  of 
aerated  or  mineral  waters  and  3  are  miscellaneous  bottling  works, 
compose  this  group. 

As  to  the  kind  of  building  occupied,  4  are  in  special  factories,  4 
in  lofts,  2  in  converted  dwellings,  1  in  a  dwelling,  and  1  in  a 
tenement. 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  ARK  A.  357 

The  number  of  workers  employed  is  158.  Of  these,  but  3% 
work  in  shops  that  are  below  "  B  "  grade  in  cleanliness.  In  this 
grading,  wet  floors  are  not  rated  as  dirty,  but  as  insanitary  from 
the  point  of  view  of  health. 

Conditions  in  the  water  closets  provided  are  not  above  the  aver- 
age for  the  district.  For  56 /&  of  the  workers,  these  apartments 
are  reported  as  dirty,  as  dark  or  semi-dark  for  48%,  as  poorly  ven- 
tilated for  28/6.  Of  the  total  number  of  water-closet  apartments, 
25%  have  no  outside  windows  and  13%  are  separated  from  the 
shop  by  dwarf  partitions  only. 

Washing  facilities  are  inadequate  for  all  employees,  inasmuch  as 
towels  are  not  supplied  in  a  single  instance.  On  the  other  hand, 
all  factories  have  hot  water. 

The  dangers  in  this  trade  result  from  constant  dampness  and 
broken  glass. 

\Yhere  the  washing  and  tilling  are  going  on,  the  floors  are  always 
more  or  less  wet.  The  men  who  do  the  washing  have  their  hands 
and  arms  continuously  in  the  water.  This  condition  of  things  can 
be  improved  by  the  use  of  a  proper  washing  machine.  The  wet 
floors  also  result  from  the  breaking  of  bottles  in  the  filling  process. 
To  prevent  this,  an  adequate  waste-pan  should  be  built  around  this 
machine. 

Accidents  from  broken  glass  occur  in  washing  and  filling  the 
bottles  and  from  the  bursting  of  bottles  already  filled.  A  washing 
machine  removes  most  of  the  dangers  connected  with  hand-washing. 
Bottles  that  have  been  filled  and  labeled  should  be  instantly  re- 
moved from  among  the  workmen  and  placed  in  a  store-room. 

In  one  establishment  employing  10  men,  2  were  at  home 
through  accidents  at  the  time  of  the  inspection.  One  man  had 
been  laid  off  for  10  days  with  a  cut  received  while  washing  bottles. 
Another  had  been  out  a  week  for  the  same  reason.  Another  had 
just  returned  from  a  4  days'  absence,  caused  by  ft  cut  in  the  palm 
of  his  hand.  One  of  the  men  had  suffered  the  loss  of  an  eye.  In 
response  to  the  question,  "  Do  you  ever  get  cut  ?  "  one  workman 
replied,  "  I  get  cut  every  day." 

The  great  majority  of  cuts  and  wounds,  however,  occur  in  con- 
nection with  the  filling  process.  All  the  carbonated  waters  are  bot- 


358         NOTES  ON  SANITAEY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

tied  under  pressure,  and  the  siphons  under  much  greater  pressure 
than  the  sodas.  In  all  the  shops  the  siphons  are  placed  in  iron 
cages  while  being  filled.  The  cage  imprisons  a  part  of  the  flying 
glass,  but  splinters  and  particles  escape.  As  a  further  protection, 
masks  and  gloves  should  be  worn.  Masks  are  furnished  by  all  the 
shops,  but  only  one  place  was  found  in  which  the  wearing  was  made 
compulsory  by  the  management.  In  another  shop,  it  was  explained 
that  the  masks  were  furnished,  but,  as  one  workman  jovially 
remarked,  "only  the  married  men  wore  them."  Gloves  are  even 
less  worn  as  a  protection  than  masks,  as  their  use  is  rather  awkward 
in  operating  the  machines.  Except  in  one  shop,  the  machines  for 
crowning  the  soda  bottles  are  of  the  hand-fed  variety  and  difficult 
to  feed  when  the  operator  wears  gloves. 

An  Italian  foreman,  whose  face  and  hands  were  covered  with 
scars,  showed  a  particularly  ugly  one  on  the  hand  and  wrist  from 
a  cut  in  which  blood  poison  had  developed.  This  wound,  which 
had  disabled  his  arm  for  two  months,  had  been  received  while  sim- 
ply passing  by  the  machine  where  another  man  was  at  work. 
Another  workman  had  been  laid  up  seven  weeks  with  a  cut  which 
had  nearly  severed  the  tendons  of  his  fingers.  His  face  and  hands 
were  covered  with  scars,  but  in  spite  of  all  these  accidents  he  had 
only  lately  taken  to  wearing  a  glove,  with  the  finger-ends  cut  off,  as 
a  partial  protection. 

One  firm  was  found  which  had  reduced  all  these  dangers  to  a 
minimum  by  the  installation  of  a  washing  machine,  a  self-feeding 
crown  machine,  and  the  compulsory  use  of  gloves  and  masks. 

DYEING  AND  CLEANING. 

The  10  establishments  representing  the  dyeing  and  cleaning 
industry  are  divided  as  follow- : 

Textile  dyeing  and  printing 1 

Carpet  cleaning 2 

Skein-silk  dyeing 3 

Custom  dyeing  and  cleaning 4 

Total   ,  10 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  OF  A  SELECTED  AREA.  359 

The  buildings  occupied  are  of  all  grades,  varying  from  a  ram- 
shackle rear  tenement,  now  used  for  silk-dyeing,  to  a  modern  and 
well-equipped  carpet-cleaning  factory.  •  The  average  cleanliness  is 
fair.  Of  the  140  workers,  119,  or  85%,  work  in  fairly  clean 
shops;  21,  or  15%,  in  dirty  shops. 

Dark  or  semi-dark  water  closets  are  supplied  for  45%  of  the 
men  and  16%  of  the  women.  Poor  ventilation  of  these  apartments 
is  reported  for  35%  of  the  men  and  16%  of  the  women.  Not  only 
are  light  and  ventilation  both  worse  for  the  men  than  for  the 
women,  but  men's  apartments  are  also  more  neglected.  Not  quite 
16%  of  the  women  use  water  closets  that  are  not  clean,  whereas 
70%  of  the  men  use  closets  that  are  actually  dirty. 

Washing  facilities  are  inadequate  for  87%  of  the  employees. 
Hot  water  is  provided  for  49%,  and  59%  have  cold  water  only. 

No  shops  have  enough  towels:  38%  have  an  insufficient  supply, 
and  about  62%  have  no  towels  at  all. 

As  the  workmen  keep  their  hands  in  the  dyeing  and  rinsing  tubs 
most  of  the  time,  they  are  inclined  to  think  that  they  do  not  need 
to  wash  up.  But  the  dye  should  not  be  allowed  to  remain  on  the 
hands,  and  water,  soap  and  towels  should  always  be  supplied  to 
remove  it. 

Five  of  these  establishments  employ  from  1  to  27  women.  Only 
1  of  them,  with  4  women  workers,  has  a  separate  dressing  room 
for  their  use. 

In  the  custom  dye  works  and  the  skein-silk  dyeing  the  method  is 
much  the  same.  The  dye  room  has  a  cement  or  flagstone  floor, 
graded  for  drainage.  Dyeing  and  scouring  with  soap  are  some- 
times done  in  separate  rooms,  but  generally  the  same  room  is  used 
for  both.  In  6  of  the  8  establishments  the  drainage  is  inadequate 
and  the  floors  are  very  wet.  The  men  generally  wear  shoes  with 
thick  wooden  soles.  In  only  one  OF  two  rooms  is  the  drainage 
effective.  In  most  places  the  scouring  tables  drain  only  to  the 
floor.  But  in  one  carpet-cleaning  establishment  the  tables  shed 
the  dirty  water  into  troughs,  which  conduct  it  to  waste-pipes. 

Articles  are  taken  from  the  dye  tubs  by  hand,  or  with  a  stick. 
Where  aniline  dyes  are  used,  it  is  evident  that  adequate  washing 
facilities  should  be  insisted  upon.  Other  unpleasant  features  of  a 
dvr  room  are  the  steam  and  odors  that  fill  the  air.  In  no  establish- 


360          NOTES  ON  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 

ment  are  the  separate  tubs  or  vats  provided  with  hoods  and  exhaust 
pipes.  In  one  room  there  are  four  ventilating  stacks  rising  from 
the  four  corners  of  the  room,  which  carry  off  the  vapor  in  part. 
In  another  shop,  where  ribbon  and  textile  dyeing  is  done,  a  large 
tube  runs  the  length  of  the  ceiling,  with  openings  at  intervals.  A 
powerful  vacuum  fan  is  placed  near  the  vent  to  the  outer  air. 
This  was  the  only  satisfactory  ventilator  found.  In  the  others, 
windows  and  doors  are  the  only  means  of  ventilation,  and  to  open 
these  is  usually  to  expose  the  overheated  workers  to  drafts  and 
sudden  changes  in  temperature. 

In  the  dry-cleaning  industry  the  dangers  are  from  fire  and  ben- 
zine or  naphtha  fumes.  Four  of  the  factories  do  dry  cleaning,  and 
in  all  of  them  the  fire  risk  is  considerable.  The  room  in  which  the 
clothes  are  washed  in  gasolene  or  naphtha  is  fairly  well  protected 
by  metal  floor  coverings  and  ceilings.  In  these  rooms  there  is  no 
lighting  and  heating  apparatus.  In  one  case  the  dry-cleaning  room 
is  a  small  separate  house  built  in  a  back  yard.  But  the  drying 
rooms  and  "  spotting  "  rooms  (where  the  left-over  spots  are  taken 
out  by  hand  with  chloroform  or  alcohol)  are  often  entirely  finished 
with  wood.  The  buildings  in  which  these  shops  are  located  all  have 
wooden  stairs  and  are  by  no  means  fireproof.  The  danger  seems 
to  be  less  from  explosion  of  the  fluid  itself  than  from  the  inflam- 
mability of  the  articles  that  have  just  been  cleaned  and  the 
fumes  which  come  from  them.  Exposure  to  intoxication  by  ben- 
zine or  naphtha  fumes  results  in  nausea,  loss  of  appetite  and 
anaemia.  Young  people,  especially  girls,  are  most  sensitive  to 
these  effects.  In  one  or  two  cases  ventilating  pipes  were  found  in 
the  cleaning  rooms,  but  in  no  case  is  there  a  thorough  ventilation 
system  for  drying  and  sorting  rooms  or  for  the  entire  factory.  One 
drying  machine  was  found  which  consisted  of  a  revolving  cylinder, 
perforated  like  an  extractor  and  enclosed  in  a  case  into  which  a 
current  of  hot  air  is  forced  and  from  which  it  is  withdrawn  by 
a  vacuum  fan.  In  this  way  the  fumes  were  partially  prevented 
from  escaping  into  the  room. 

In  the  carpet-cleaning  factories  the  beating  is  entirely  done  by 
machines.  One  type  was  a  "  non-labor  "  machine,  into  which  the 
rug  or  carpet  could  be  completely  inserted  and  left  alone  until 
thoroughly  beaten.  Unfortunately,  this  machine  is  hard  on  the 


~ 
3 

JB 


g-a 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  ur  A  SELECTED  AREA.  361 

texture  of  the  rug.  The  ordinary  cleaner,  however,  has  to  be 
tended.  It  consists  of  a  long  revolving  drum  to  the  surface  of  which 
leather  straps  are  attached  by  one  end.  The  carpet  passes  beneath 
this  drum  and  is  beaten  constantly  and  violently  by  the  leather 
thongs.  The  whole  is  enclosed  in  a  box  equipped  with  an  exhaust 
system,  by  which  the  dust  is  carried  away.  The  men  who  pull  the 
rugs  back  and  forth  are  thus  effectively  guarded  from  the  dust  as 
long  as  the  machine  is  in  good  working  order. 

TOILET  PREPARATIONS  AND  CHEMICALS. 

The  making  and  packing  of  soap,  toilet  powder,  hair  tonics, 
patent  medicines,  gum  and  mica  employs  94  workers,  divided 
among  10  establishments. 

The  work  is  done  in  shop  rooms  which  in  no  case  are  kept  in 
really  good  condition.  Of  the  workers,  84 c/o  are  in  fairly  clean 
rooms  and  16%  in  dirty  ones. 

Dark  or  semi-dark  water  closets  are  reported  for  27%  of  the 
women  and  41%  of  the  men.  For  25%  of  the  women  and  73% 
of  the  men  the  ventilation  of  these  apartments  is  poor.  The  condi- 
tion of  the  water  closets  is  seen  from  the  fact  that  22%  of  the  men 
and  98%  of  the  women  use  closets  of  "  B  "  grade.  Seventy-eight 
per  cent  of  the  men  and  2%  of  the  women  use  toilets  that  are 
actually  dirty.  Forty-two  per  cent  of  the  water-closet  apartments 
have  no  outside  windows. 

Only  74%  of  the  workers  are  reported  as  having  adequate  wash- 
ing facilities.  Eighty-one  per  cent  have  only  cold  water  to  wash 
with,  and  76%  have  either  an  insufficient  towel  supply  or  none  at 
all.  This  low  standard  in  washing  facilities  supplied  and  per- 
sonal cleanliness  among  the  employees  is  strikingly  out  of  place 
in  factories  whose  product  must  bear  a  government  guarantee  of 
chemical  purity. 

The  packing  of  talcum  and  other  powders  is  done  by  hand  and 
the  room  is  filled  with  the  white,  irritating  dust.  The  girls  pro- 
tect their  hair  with  paper  caps,  but  there  is  no  protection  for  their 
lungs.  No  respirators  were  seen. 

BREWERIES. 

The  brewing  industry  gives  employment  to  86  men.  There  are 
4  establishments,  all  housed  in  special  factories.  Of  these  86 


u-N  SANITARY  CONDITIONS  IN  FACTORIES. 


worker.-,  ^onic  are  engaged  ill  bottling  and  a  few  are  coopers.  One 
firm,  which  furnishes  fixtures  to  saloons  handling  its  product,  has 
4  men  employed  to  keep  the  fixtures  in  repair.  But  53  men  are 
employed  in  the  brewing  industry  proper. 

The  cleanliness  of  the  workrooms  is  fair;  only  8  men,  or  9%, 
work  where  conditions  are  bad.  The  water  closets,  however,  are 
poor.  Eight  out  of  13,  or  G'2(/c}  are  separated  fiorn  the  shop  by 
dwarf  partitions  only.  Forty  per  cent  have  no  outside  ventilation. 
Of  the  workers,  70%  must  use  water  closets  that  are  semi-dark. 
For  35%  of  the  men  the  ventilation  of  the  water  closets  is  poor, 
and  for  11%  the  flush  is  inadequate;  (55%  use  toilets  which  are 
fairly  clean;  35%  use  closets  that  are  really  dirty. 

Hot  water  is  provided  for  washing  for  72%  of  the  workers;  cold 
water  only  for  28%.  None  of  the  workers  are  furnished  with 
towels. 

The  workers  are  divided  into:  (1)  the  brew-house  men,  (2)  the 
wash-house  men,  (3)  the  racking  men,  (4)  the  ice-house  men. 

The  brew-house  men  are  subjected  to  no  special  dangers.  The 
dust  in  the  milling  room,  due  to  cleaning  and  grinding  the  malt, 
would  be  a  real  menace  to  any  one  who  worked  in  it  continuously  ; 
but  in  these  establishments  the  work  requires  only  a  small  part  of 
one  man's  time.  The  wash-house  is  where  the  barrels  are  washed 
and  inspected.  Here  the  floors  are  always  wet  and  the  men  more 
or  less  so. 

The  racking,  that  is,  transferring  the  liquors  from  the  storage 
casks  to  kegs  and  barrels,  preparatory  to  shipping,  is  largely  done 
in  cold,  damp  cellars,  and  not  infrequently  in  the  ice-house,  where 
the  beer  is  stored  in  vats  to  ripen.  The  air  is  chilled  by  ammonia 
pipes,  and  the  temperature  is  from  36  to  38  degrees  Fahrenheit. 
The  floors  are  always  wet. 

Of  the  53  workers,  18,  or  34%,  work  in  the  ice-house  most  of  the 
time.     Twenty-one,  or  40%,  are  employed  at  washing  and  racking. 
Thus  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  brewery  men  work  where  it  is 
always  wet,  and  one-third  where  it  is  both  wet  and  cold. 

RAGS. 

One  establishment,  employing  16  persons,  handles  cotton  and 
woolen  rags.  The  sorters  are  women.  They  sit  on  the  floor  and 


INDUSTRIAL  SURVEY  or  A  SELECTED  AREA.  363 

separate  the  woolen  rags  according  to  colors.  These  rags  have  beer 
collected  from  households  and  shaken  out  by  the  collectors,  but 
have  not  been  cleaned  or  disinfected.  They  give  off  dust  at  each 
handling.  The  cotton  rags  are  sorted  in  the  adjoining  room,  where 
the  light  and  ventilation  are  fairly  good.  They  are  even  more 
unpleasant  to  handle  and  more  likely  to  convey  infection. 


APPENDIX    VI 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES 

A  PRELIMINARY  REPORT  ON  LEAD  POISONING  IN  THE  CITY  OF 
YORK,  WITH  AN  APPENDIX  ON  ARSENICAL,  POISONING. 

BY 

EDWARD  EWING  PRATT,  Ph.  D., 

Assistant  Professor  of  Economics  and  Statistics  in  the 
New  York  School  of  Philanthropy. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Prefatory  Note    368 

Chapter      I.  Introduction 369 

Chapter    II.  Lead  Poisoning  in  European  Legislation 373 

Chapter  III.  Industries  in  which  Lead  is  Used : 392 

A.  Manufacturing  Industries: 

I.  Manufacture  of  White  Lead  and  Lead  Oxide 395 

II.  Manufacture  of  Paints  and  Colors 417 

III.  Smelting,  Melting,  Refining  and  Casting  of  Lead 426 

IV.  Use  of  Lead  as  a  Hardening  and  Tempering  Agent 428 

V.  Use  of  Lead  Solders 432 

VI.  Miscellaneous  Industries   433 

1.  Manufacture   of   Coaches,    Carriages   and   Automobile 

Bodies 433 

2.  Manufacture  of  Lead  Pipe,  Lead  Tubing  and  Solder 

Wire 433 

3.  Manufacture  of  Sheet  Lead 434 

4.  Manufacture  of  Tinfoil 434 

5.  Manufacture  of  Linoleum 436 

6.  Manufacture  of  Cut  (Glass 437 

B.  Non-manufacturing  Industries > 438 

Painting  and  Decorating 438 

Chapter  IV.  Stories  of  Cases  of  Lead  Poisoning 441 

I.  Industrial  Workers    441 

II.  Painters 496 

Chapter    V.  Analysis  of  Lead  Poisoning  Cases 532 

Chapter  VI.  Recommendations 548 

Appendices : 

A.  Manufacture  of  Paris  Green  and  Arsenical  Poisoning 556 

B.  Method  of  the  Inquiry 565 


PREFATORY  NOTE 


The  investigation,  the  results  of  which  are  herein  presented, 
has  been  made  in  large  part  by  a  group  of  thirteen  students  in 
the  New  York  School  of  Philanthropy,  in  connection  with  my 
course  on  Methods  of  Research  and  Statistics.  This  work  has 
occupied  but  a  very  small  portion  of  their  time,  not  exceeding 
an  average  of  six  hours  each  per  week,  over  a  period  of  ten  weeks. 
The  majority  of  the  individual  cases  of  lead  poisoning  were  in- 
vestigated by  the  students  and  their  descriptions  are  used  through- 
out. They  have  also  compiled  the  tables  analyzing  these  cases. 

I  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  indebtedness  to  the 
members  of  this  group  for  their  assistance  in  collecting  this  in- 
formation and  for  their  loyal  support.  The  group  was  composed 
of  the  following  persons: 

Miss  Elizabeth  Botsford  Mr.  H.  H.  Jones 

Miss  Marie  L.  Chase  .Miss  Mildred  Plumb 

Miss  Grace  W.  Cottrell  Miss  Anne  M.  Sloan 

Miss  Euphemia  G.  Cowan  Miss  Mary  C.  Snyder 

Mr.  Solon  DeLeon  Miss  Helen  F.  Veasey 

Miss  Evelyn  H.  Ellis  Miss  Mary  V.  Walker 
Miss  Blanche  W.  Hull 

The  writer  wishes  also  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the  serv- 
ices of  Miss  Alice  Keyes,  Assistant  in  the  Statistical  Labora- 
tory, who  has  attended  to  a  large  amount  of  the  detail  and  clerical 
work. 

E.  E.  PRATT. 


CHAPTER  I 

INTEODDCTIOK 

Doubtless  we  in  America  often  think  that  we  are  not  aiflicted 
with  the  deadly  diseases  which  are  found  in  Europe.  We  are 
often  tempted  to  congratulate  ourselves  that  conditions  here  are 
not  like  those  abroad,  that  our  workers  are  stronger,  healthier 
and  more  intelligent,  that  our  standard  of  living  is  higher,  and 
hence  our  resistance  to  disease  greater.  Statements  like  these 
are  often  made  in  connection  with  industrial  diseases.  The 
small  number  of  cases  of  lead  poisoning  is  attributed  to  better 
conditions  in  the  lead  industries  in  this  country  and  to  a  stronger, 
healthier,  labor  supply.  It  may  be  that  this  is  true.  I  hope  it 
is,  but  recent  investigations  throw  some  doubt  upon  such  con- 
clusions. During  the  years  1908,  1909,  1910,  the  Illinois  Com- 
mission on  Occupational  Diseases1  discovered  578  cases,  and  6 
suspected  cases,  of  lead  poisoning  in  that  state  alone.  In  Eng- 
land during  the  same  years,  there  were  only  1,704  cases  of  lead 
poisoning.2  In  1910  there  were  but  505  cases  of  lead  poisoning 
reported  to  the  authorities.3  During  1911,  the  very  cursory  in- 
vestigation which  I  have  been  making  reveals  121  cases  in  Xew 
York  city  alone.  A  total  of  376  cases  were  found,  mainly  in 
1909,  1910,  1911.  This  number  includes  only  cases  which  were 
relatively  serious,  consisting  largely  of  hospital  cases.  The  vast 
number  of  dispensary  cases  and  persons  treated  by  private  phy- 
sicians is  not  included. 

In  most  of  the  European  countries,  the  subject  of  lead  poison- 
ing has  been  thoroughly  studied.  The  governmental  authori- 
ties are  alive  to  its  gravity  and  to  its  importance.  It  is  reason- 
able to  believe  that  we  know  how  much  lead  poisoning  there  is 


1  Report  of  Illinois  Commission  on  Occupational  Diseases,  p.  44.  (The 
Commission  does  not  clearly  state  that  the  cases  occurred  exclusively  in 
these  years.) 

1  Report  of  Factory  Inspector  Great  Britain,  1910,  p.  170. 
•Ibid.  p.  170. 


370  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

in  Germany,  France  and  England.  The  same  cannot  be  said 
of  the  United  States.  We  do  not  know,  even  approximately, 
how  much  lead  poisoning  there  is  in  the  United  States,  or  in 
any  one  state.  This  ignorance  is  due  to  certain  causes  which 
are  now  coming  to  be  recognized.  Our  physicians  are  unedu- 
cated along  these  lines,  they  fail  to  recognize  occupational,  or 
industrial  diseases  because  they  have  been  interested  merely  in 
treatment  and  not  in  the  elimination  of  disease.  There  has  been 
no  method  of  recording  or  publishing  the  number  or  extent  of 
cases  of  industrial  disease,  and  inadequate  hospital  records  fur- 
nish but  vague  clews  to  the  industrial  causes.  Many  of  the  in- 
dustries which  are  the  most  prolific  of  industrial  diseases  —  this  is 
especially  true  of  lead  poisoning  —  are  those  whose  ranks  are 
filled  with  the  unskilled,  non-English  speaking  workers,  who 
find  it  difficult  to  make  known  their  ills,  and  who  pass  rapidly 
from  one  industry  to  another. 

Very  much  greater  progress  has  been  made  in  European  coun- 
tries, both  in  the  study  and  elimination  of  lead  poisoning,  than 
we  in  the  United  States  have  even  thought  of  making.  In  the 
German  cities,  for  example,  Berlin,  Munich  and  Frankfurt-on- 
Main,  there  are  permanent  Museums  of  Safety  that  give  no 
small  part  of  their  space  to  illustrations  of  lead  poisoning  and 
lead  industries,  to  samples  of  the  materials  and  to  models  show- 
ing the  best  methods  of  prevention.  Last  summer  in  Dresden 
there  was  a  great  Hygienic  Exposition,  dealing  with  every  phase 
of  ancient  and  modern  methods  of  hygiene.  The  subject  of  lead 
poisoning  played  a  very  important  part.  Many  of  the  European 
countries  such  as  Germany,  France,  Belgium,  Holland  and  Great 
Britain  have  passed  stringent  regulations  for  safeguarding  the 
workers  in  various  industries  using  or  manufacturing  lead  in 
its  many  forms.  In  England,  notable  progress  in  cutting  down 
the  amount  of  lead  poisoning  has  been  made.  In  1900,  there 
were  1,058  cases  of  lead  poisoning  reported  by  the  Medical  In- 
spector of  Factories;  in  1910,  this  number — largely  by  means 
of  special  regulations  —  had  been  reduced  to  505  cases.1 


*See  report  of  Factory  Inspector  1910,  p.  170. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  :>>7L 

In  this  country,  there  are  only  three  studies  of  lead  poisoning 
which  are  worthy  of  any  note.  These  are :  the  study  made  by 
the  Illinois  Commission  on  Occupational  Diseases,  conducted 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Alice  Hamilton  and  published  in 
the  Report  of  the  Commission  in  January,  1911;  second,  the 
report  of  the  Federal  Investigation  of  the  White  Lead  In- 
dustry, carried  on  under  the  direction  of  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor,  by  Dr.  Hamilton;  and  third,  a  study 
by  Dr.  John  B.  Andrews,  of  sixty  fatal  cases  of  lead  poi- 
soning occurring  in  New  York  State  in  the  years  1909  and  1910. 
These  studies  furnish  but  meagre  data  on  which  legislation  may 
be  based.  The  study,  the  results  of  which  are  presented  here- 
with, is  but  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  field.  The  further  the 
investigation  was  carried  the  more  serious  has  the  problem  be- 
come. In  the  time  at  the  disposal  of  the  people  who  have  made 
this  study,  it  was  impossible  to  study  and  inspect  even  repre- 
sentative establishments  of  all  linos  of  industries,  much  less  all 
the  establishments  in  these  industries.  Nor  has  time  permitted 
the  close  personal  investigation  of  all  the  cases  which  have  been 
found.  The  most  valuable  results  of  the  entire  investigation 
are  doubtless  to  be  found  in  a  close  study  of  these  individual 
cases.  They  are  presented  here  in  considerable  detail,  in  order 
that  the  whole  story  may  be  given,  and  not  a  mere  frame 
work  devoid  of  interest  or  supplementary  information. 

The  pictures  which  are  presented  in  this  report,  which  have 
been  taken  through  the  courtesy  of  the  factory  owners,  do  not 
aim  to  show  bad  conditions,  or  good  conditions.  They  have  been 
taken  with  a  view  to  clearly  setting  forth  the  nature  of  the  pro- 
cesses of  the  various  industries.  Some  of  them  do  show  that 
conditions  need  to  be  improved  and  greatly  improved;  others 
furnish  a  basis  for  suggesting  such  necessary  improvements. 

The  writer  and  his  assistants  regret  that  the  amount  of  in- 
formation is  not  larger,  that  more  factories  were  not  inspected, 
that  more  cases  were  not  subjected  to  a  detailed  and  searching 
investigation.  The  results  attained  are  merely  preliminary  and 
it  is  sincerely  hoped  that  the  investigation  may  bo  enlarged  and 


372  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

carried    on    throughout    the    State,    more   thoroughly    and    more 
extensively. 

The  recommendations  which  we  have  been  bold  enough  to 
offer  are  the  most  elementary  and  elemental  in  their  nature. 
The  data  herewith  presented  form,  we  believe,  an  adequate  basis 
for  these  recommendations.  More  detailed  recommendations 
covering  each  industry  can  be  made  only  after  a  more  detailed 
and  more  comprehensive  study. 


CHAPTER  II 

LEAD   POISONING  INT  EUKOPEAN  LEGISLATION.1 
ENGLAND,  GERMANY,  FEANCE  AND  BELGIUM. 

Among  all  the  countries  of  the  world,  Germany  is  beyond 
doubt  to-day  the  one  with  the  greatest  mass  of  legislation  bear- 
ing on  the  question  of  lead  poisoning.  Not  only  was  it  one  of 
the  first  in  the  field  regulating  the  employment  of  women  in 
lead  mines  in  1892,  and  not  only  do  its  statutes  cover  the  great- 
est number  of  industries,  but  it  stands  out  as  remarkable  in 
the  characteristic  Teutonic  thoroughness  and  minuteness  with 
which  it  lays  down  the  conditions  under  which  each  particular 
lead  trade  shall  be  carried  on. 

While  Germany  sets  the  pace,  England  and  France  are  close 
at  its  heels.  In  all  three  of  these  countries  the  workers  in  the 
more  dangerous  trades  are  forbidden  to  eat  or  to  leave  the 
premises  where  they  are  employed  without  first  thoroughly  wash- 
ing their  hands  and  faces  and  in  some  instances  their  mouths 
and  noses  also.  !N"o  food,  no  beverage,  no  tobacco  whether  for 
smoking,  chewing  or  snuffing,  is  allowed  to  be  used  or  even  car- 
ried into  the  workroom.  In  the  dusty  trades  such  as  white  lead 
making,  lead  oxidizing  and  storage  battery  manufacture,  the 
men  must  take  warm  baths  regularly,  sometimes  weekly,  some- 
times daily.  In  England  in  the  white  lead  industry,  a  register 
is  kept  of  these  baths. 

Practically  everywhere  the  emphasis  is  thrown  on  ventila- 
tion; lighting  is  mentioned;  a  thorough  cleaning  must  be  given 
to  the  plant  at  regular  intervals;  the  employer  must  furnish 
clothing,  lockers,  washrooms  and  dressing  rooms  supplied  with 
hot  and  cold  water,  soap,  towels  and  nailbrushes;  and  he  must 
set  aside  a  dust-free  room  for  a  lunch  room,  warmed  in  cold 
weather,  and  frequently  provided  with  means  for  warming  the 
workmen's  food.  In  some  of  the  more  trying  trades,  the  hours 


l  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.   Solon  DeLeon  for  the  summary  of  legis- 
lation presented  in  this  chapter. 


374  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

are  made  short  and  broken  by  frequent  pauses.  Belgium  for- 
bids women  from  working  in  the  china  and  earthenware  trade 
for  four  weeks  after  confinement. 

Germany  in  the  lead  smelting,  white  lead,  lead  oxide,  storage 
battery  and  painting  trades,  and  England  in  all  but  the  last  of 
these  with  earthenware  and  yarn  "  heading "  thrown  in,  require 
a  "  control  book "  or  health  register.  The  German  book  is  a 
very  elaborate  affair,  requiring  entries  of  the  name  of  the  per- 
son keeping  it,  first  and  last  name,  address,  age  of  each  work- 
man, date  of  entering  and  leaving  the  employ  of  the  factory, 
date  and  nature  of  his  illness,  date  of  his  recovery,  name  of 
the  factory  physician,  and  dates  and  results  of  the  medical  ex- 
amination. The  employer  is  responsible  for  the  correctness  of 
this  record  and  must  show  it  to  the  factory  or  medical  inspector 
on  demand. 

Before  a  workman  in  Germany,  France  or  England  can  leg- 
ally get  work  at  one  of  the  dangerous  lead  trades,  he  must  pro- 
vide himself  with  a  medical  certificate  showing  that  he  is  of 
sound  physique  and  constitution  and  fairly  capable  of  with- 
standing the  poisons  he  will  have  to  work  with.  Medical  super- 
vision is  very  strict  according  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  ranging 
from  one  examination  per  week  in  the  white  lead  industry  in 
England  to  one  in  six  months  among  the  German  painters.  When 
a  worker  is  discovered  Avith  symptoms  of  plumbism,  the  laws 
almost  universally  require  that  he  be  "  suspended ;  "  that  is, 
given  employment  that  keeps  him  out  of  contact  with  lead  until  he 
has  fully  recovered.  Belgium  requires  that  a  leaded  man  be 
kept  out  of  that  sort  of  work  permanently. 

A  decisive  clause  found  only  in  the  German  law,  but  there 
repeatedly,  is  that  workers  continually  violating  the  hygienic 
rules  set  up,  shall,  after  repeated  warning,  be  summarily  and 
permanently  discharged.  A  similar  but  much  weaker  clause  is 
the  occasional  English  provision  that  a  reckless  worker  lays  him- 
self open,  upon  conviction,  to  a  fine.  In  Belgium  no  workman 
addicted  to  alcohol  may  legally  be  employed  in  white  lead,  lead 
oxide,  or  lead  paint  making. 

Three  of  the  countries  considered  —  Germany,  France  and 
Belgium  —  have  turned  their  attention  to  house  painting,  a  pro- 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  375 

lific  source  of  painful  and  annoying,  but  less  often  fatal  variety 
of  lead  poisoning.  Among  other  regulations  all  three  of 
these  countries  forbid  the  removal  of  lead  paint  by  any  dry 
rubbing  or  scraping  process.  On  August  20,  1909,  Belgium 
decided  that  after  the  expiration  of  one  year  white  lead  for  paint- 
ing purposes  could  only  be  transported,  sold,  or  used  in  the  form 
of  a  paste  or  liquid  mixed  with  oil,  and  the  ministry  was  given 
power  to  extend  the  same  prohibition  to  white  lead  for  any  other 
purpose.  By  an  act  of  1909,  however,  France  has  put  itself 
far  beyond  this,  having  decreed  that  after  July  20,  1914,  the 
use  of  "white  lead,  of  linseed  oil  mixed  with  white  lead,  and 
of  all  specialized  products  containing  white  lead,  will  be  for- 
bidden in  all  painting,  no  matter  of  what  nature,  carried  on  by 
working  painters  either  on  the  outside  or  in  the  inside  of 
buildings." 

Of  the  industries  considered  which  include  all  the  more  im- 
portant ones  using  lead,  those  in  which  the  health  of  workers 
has  been  made  a  matter  of  legislative  treatment  in  Germany  are: 
casting,  zinc  smelting,  type  founding  and  stereotyping,  type  set- 
ting, white  lead  manufacturing,  other  lead  oxides,  paints  and 
dyes,  electric  accumulators,  painting  and  file,  cutting.  England 
has  taken  up  lead  smelting  and  casting,  type  founding,  white 
lead,  lead  oxides  and  paints,  electric  accumulators,  file  cutting, 
heading  yarn  dyed  with  a  lead  compound,  earthenware  and  china, 
and  the  painting  of  same,  and  turning  and  enamelling.  France 
has  dealt  with  the  mining,  smelting,  white  lead,  lead  oxides  and 
paints,  electric  accumulators,  painting,  the  pottery  processes  and 
enamelling.  Belgium's  attention  has  been  given  to  lead  smelt- 
ing, white  lead  and  oxides,  electric  accumulators,  painting,  and 
particularly  to  china,  porcelain  and  faience. 


37G 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


THE   PRINCIPAL,    LEAD    INDUSTRIES    AND    DATES    OF    PRESENT 

LEGISLATION  THEREON  IN  FOUR  LEADING  EUROPEAN 

COUNTRIES. 


INDUSTRT 

England 

Germany 

France 

Belgium 

Lead  mining  ;  

1892 

1893 

Lead  smelting  and  casting  
7>inc  smelting  

1898 
1901,   1911 

1893 
1905 

1900 

1893,    1904 
1905,    1908 

1810,    1892,    1894 
1898,   1901,   1905 

Typefounding    and    stereotyp- 
ing   

1901 

1897 

Typesetting  

1907,   1908 
1897,    1907 

White  lead.  .    .                 . 

1898 

1908 
1903 

1908,    1909 

1892,    1894,   1898 

Other  lead  oxides,  paints  and 
dyes  

1898,   1907 

1903 

1893,    1908 

1899,   1902,    1905 
1892,   1894,    1898 

Electric  accumulators      .  . 

1911 
1903 

1908 

1909 
1908,   1909 

1899,    1902,    1905 
1894,    1898 

Industries  using  paint  contain- 
ing lead  

1905 

1902,    1904 

1905,    1909 

File  cutting    .  .                .          . 

1903 

1908 

1909 

Heading  yarn  dyed  with  lead 

1907 

Earthenware  and  China  

1901,   1903 

1909 

1899,    1905,    1908 

Color  transfers  on  earthenware 

1898 

1902,    1908 
1908,    1909 

1889,    1892,    1898 
1889,    1892,    1898 

1894 

1908,   1909 

1899,    1905,    1908 

OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


37 


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CHAPTER  III 

INDUSTRIES  IN  WHICH  LEAD  IS  USED. 
The  results  of  a  special  inspection  of  factories  in  these  industries. 

The  fact  which  above  all  others  makes  the  subject  of  lead  in 
industry  and  lead  poisoning  so  important  is  its  very  wide  dif- 
fusion through  the  industrial  field.  Dr.  Thomas  Oliver  states 
that  no  less  than  138  industries  use  lead  in  some  form.  While 
the  writer,  in  the  short  time  at  his  disposal,  has  been  unable  to 
find  the  evidence  of  lead  in  so  many  industries,  and  much  less  to 
inspect  so  many  lines  of  industry  —  there  are  certain  industries 
in  New  York  State  which  employ  lead  in  their  manufacturing 
processes.  For  the  purpose  of  this  study,  these  industries  may 
be  grouped  under  certain  main  heads. 

A.  MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 

I.  (a)   Manufacture  of  hydrated  carbonate  of  lead,  or  white 

lead.1 

(1)  Old  Dutch  process. 

(2)  Quick,  or  Carter  process. 

(3)  Matheson  process. 

(b)  Manufacture  of  lead  oxide. 

(1)  Red  lead. 

(2)  Lead  litharge. 

(c)  Manufacture  of  lead  acetate,  or  sugar  of  lead. 

II.  Manufacture  of  paint  and  colors. 

(a)  Oil  colors. 

(b)  Dry  colors. 

(c)  Dyes   and   chrome  colors,   especially   chrome 

dyes. 

(d)  Enamels. 


1  The  term  "  carbonate  of  lead  "  or  "lead  carbonate"  will  be  used  for  sake 
of  abbreviation. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  398 

III.  Smelting,  melting,  refining  and  casting  of  lead. 

(a)  Refining  of  lead  junk. 

(b)  Manufacture  of  lead  alloys,  type  metal,  Bab- 

bitt metal,  etc. 

(c)  Manufacture  of  solder. 

(d)  Manufacture  of  calin   (lead  tin.) 

IV.  Use  of  lead  as  a  hardening  agent. 

V.  Use  of  lead  solders. 

(a)  Manufacture  of  tin  cans. 

VI.  Manufacture  of  pottery. 

(a)  Glazing  of  pottery  and  earthenware. 

(b)  Manufacture  of  litho-transfers. 

VII.  Manufacture  of  coaches,  carriages  and  automobile  bodies. 

(a)   Painting  and  varnishing  departments. 

VIII.  Enamelling. 

(a)  Iron  plates. 

(b)  Hollow  ware. 

(c)  Signs. 

IX.  Tinning  of  metals  with  lead  or  lead  and  tin. 

X.  Printing. 

(a)  Stereotyping. 

(b)  Linotyping. 

(c)  Electrotyping. 

XI.  Miscellaneous. 

(1)  Manufacture  of  plumbing  fixtures   and  sup- 

plies. 

(2)  Manufacture  of  lead  pipe  and  lead  tubing. 

(3)  Manufacture  of  lead  wire. 


394  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

XI.     Miscellaneous — (Continued). 

(4)  Manufacture  of  sheet  lead. 

(5)  Manufacture  of  tinfoil. 

(6)  Manufacture  of  lead  foil. 

(7)  Manufacture  of  lead  picture  frames. 

(8)  Manufacture  of  car  seals. 

(9)  Manufacture  of  coffins    and   coffin   hardware. 

(10)  Manufacture  of  storage   batteries    and    stor- 

age battery  plates. 

(11)  Manufacture  of  sanitary  ware. 

(12)  Manufacture  of  tiles. 

(13)  Manufacture  of  glazed  bricks. 

(14)  Manufacture  of  metal  caps  for  bottles. 

(15)  Manufacture  of  lead  chromate. 

(16)  Manufacture  of  electric  accumlators. 

(17)  Manufacture  of  linoleum  and  oilcloth. 

(18)  Manufacture  of  embroidery. 

(19)  Manufacture  of  putty. 

(20)  Manufacture  of  white  rubber. 

(21)  Manufacture  of  shot. 

(22)  Painting  of  cars  and  agricultural  implements. 

(23)  Brass  founding  and  polishing. 

(24)  Glass  cutting. 

(25)  Type  foundries. 

(26)  File  cutting. 

(27)  Diamond  polishing. 

(28)  Calico  printing. 

(29)  Shoe   finishing   and   staining  by  lead   com- 

pounds. 

(30)  Chromo-lithographic  works. 

(31)  Lead  mining. 

(32)  Harnessmaking. 


No.  1. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Melting  pig  lead  and  casting  into  buckles. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  305 

B.     NON-MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 
I.     Painting  and  decorating,  especially  interior  work. 

II.     Plumbing. 

III.  Gas  fitting. 

IV.  Commercial  and  mechanical  artists  and  retouchers. 

This  list,  imposing  and  varied  as  it  is,  doubtless  falls  far  short 
of  being  exhaustive.  Almost  every  day  of  the  investigation 
revealed  some  new  industry  where  one  would  never  have  ex- 
pected to  find  the  use  of  lead. 

It  is  impossible  to  state  either  in  how  many  factories  lead 
is  used  in  one  of  its  many  forms,  or  how  many  persons  in  the 
course  of  their  daily  work  come  in  contact  with  this  poisonous 
metal.  In  preparation  for  this  report  50  special  inspections  were 
made.  The  object  of  these  inspections  was  not  so  much  to 
determine  conditions  of  ventilation,  sanitation,  cleanliness, 
safety,  etc.,  primarily  (this  was  being  done  by  another  division 
of  the  Commission's  staff),  but  to  study  the  processes  of  manu- 
facture with  a  view  to  finding  out  and  determining  the  dan- 
gers of  poisoning  to  which  the  workers  are  exposed,  and  also 
with  a  view  to  making  such  recommendations  as  may  eliminate 
or  minimize  the  dangers. 

I.     MANUFACTURE  OF  LEAD  CARBONATE   (WHITE  LEAD),  LEAD 
OXIDE  (RED  OR  YELLOW  LEAD),  ETC.  : 

There  a.re  but  four  factories  manufacturing  white,  red  and 
yellow  lead,  and  lead  acetate  in  New  York  city.  Each  of  these 
has  been  inspected,  and  the  reports  on  each  are  here  given  in  full. 
Of  all  the  varied  forms  in  which  lead  is  found  in  manufacturing 
industries,  these  are  the  sources  of  greatest  danger.  Three  of 
these  factories  manufacture  the  white  lead,  and  one  red  and  yel- 
low lead  and  lead  acetate, —  one  of  the  white  lead  factories  makes 
small  quantities  of  red  and  yellow  lead.  In  none  of  these  fac- 
tories are  conditions  bad.  In  fact,  on  the  contrary,  the  condi- 


396  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

tions  are  very  good.  Efforts  are  being  made,  sometimes  in  the 
face  of  difficulties,  to  safeguard  and  protect  the  workers.  In  spite 
of  good  conditions,  however,  the  rate  of  lead  poisoning  is  high. 

Factory  A. 
Manufacture  of  White  and  Red  Lead,  and  Lead  Litharge. 

This  factory  is  a  collection  of  several  buildings,  most  of  them 
recently  built  and  in  good  repair.  About  100  men  are  employed, 
who  are  mostly  foreigners, —  Italians,  Slavs,  Poles  and  Hun- 
garians,—  speaking  English  only  slightly  and  with  considerable 
difficulty.  The  work  is  almost  entirely  unskilled  and  the  workers 
form  our  lowest  industrial  strata.  The  employer  and  his  superin- 
tendent were  courteous  and  placed  every  facility  at  the  command 
of  the  inspector.  The  firm  prides  itself  on  the  conditions  in  the 
plant,  and  does  many  things  that  it  thinks  will  protect  and  safe- 
guard an  industry  which  is  known  to  be  a  dangerous  one. 

I.     Manufacture  of  white  lead: 

1.  The  casting  of  the  buckles. — The  lead  arrives  at  the  plant 
in  the  form  of  lead  pigs.     It  is  then  melted  and  mechanically  run 
into  molds,  making  small,  thin,  circular,  disks  perforated  in  such 
a  way  as  to  resemble  buckles,  and  this  is  the  name  by  which  they 
are  known.     The  furnace  (see  photo  No.  1)  is  set  in  a  large,  very 
well  ventilated  shed, —  in  fact  its  sides  are  almost  entirely  open. 
The  furnace  itself  is  well  hooded  and  a  chimney  carries  off  the 
fumes.     The  molten  metal  runs  onto  an  endless  chain  of  molds, 
where  it  quickly  solidifies  and  is  dumped  into  an  awaiting  car 
to  be  taken  to  the  corroding  beds. 

2.  The  corroding  beds.     The  old  Dutch  process. —  It  is  in  the 
corroding  beds  that  the  principal  chemical  process  of  transforming 
metallic  lead  into  white  lead  takes  place.     In  spite  of  the  fact  that 
chemists  have  been  working  for  years  to  find  a  short  process,  the 
old  Dutch  process  still  produces,  according  to  the  manufacturers, 
the  best,  and  some  say,  the  only  white  lead.    In  this  factory  the 
corroding  beds  are  housed  in  an  immense  structure,  tightly  en- 
closed on  all  sides,  with  only  a  few  small  windows  near  the  roof, 


Xo.  2. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Stripping  the  corroding  beds. 


No.  2-b. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAR.     Stripping  the  corroding  beds. 


No.  3.—  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Feeding  corroded  buckles  into  the  separators. 


No.  4.—  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Drying  room  —  open  drying  pans. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  397 

and  with  little  ventilation.  The  process,  mechanically,  is  a  simple 
one.  The  floor  of  a  given  bed  (about  20  by  20)  is  covered  with 
a  layer  of  tan  bark  (oak  bark  being  generally  used),  to  a  thick- 
ness of  about  14  inches.  On  this  are  placed,  as  closely  as  possible, 
earthenware  jars  containing  about  one  pint  of  acetic  acid,  2i/£> 
per  cent  solution.  Into  this  jar  are  stuffed  the  lead  buckles;  they 
do  not  enter  the  acid,  for  the  jar,  which  is  narrowed  at  the  bot- 
tom, prevents  this.  A  layer  of  boards  is  laid  over  the  jars  and 
another  thickness  of  tan  bark  is  added,  more  jars,  and  so  on  up 
to  a  height  of  15  to  20  feet. 

The  stack  remains  thus  for  about  100  days.  It  reaches  a  tem- 
perature, from  the  heat  generated  entirely  within  the  corroding 
bed,  of  from  120  to  180  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

At  the  end  of  that  time,  corrosion  is  supposed  to  have  taken 
place,  and  the  "  stripping  of  the  beds  "  then  takes  place.  This 
process  is  accompanied  by  considerable  risks,  and  in  England  the 
most  serious  lead  poisoning  cases  have  occurred  in  this  work.  The 
upper  layer  of  boards  is  removed,  exposing  the  pots  full  of  a  brittle, 
white  material,  in  the  shape  of  the  original  buckles,  but  having 
lost  the  ordinary  appearance  of  metallic  lead.  This  is  lead  car- 
bonate. A  corrosion,  of  from  40  to  80  per  cent  takes  place;  70 
per  cent  is  considered  good.  Men  enter  the  bed,  take  up  the  jars 
and  dump  the  contents  into  a  small  car  which  stands  nearby. 
(See  photos  No.  2  and  No.  2b.)  More  or  less  pure  white  lead 
dust  always  rises  in  this  process.  The  men  are  provided  with 
bandana  handkerchiefs  which  they  tie  about  their  noses  and 
mouths.  The  firm  provides  cheesecloth  and  sponges  for  this  pur- 
pose. Respirators  which  were  provided  were  refused  by  the  men, 
who  said  that  these  irritated  their  faces.  A  traveling  crane  car- 
ries off  the  car,  when  full,  to  a  track  where  it  is  sent  on  its  way 
to  the  separating  machines. 

3.  The  car  containing  the  corroded  buckles  is  delivered  to  the 
separating  machines,  and  there  a  worker  shovels  the  white  lead 
from  the  car  into  the  machine.  Although  the  mouth  of  the  sep- 
arating machine  is  protected  by  a  hood,  this  is  one  of  the  most 
dangerous  processes  in  the  factory.  (See  photo  No.  3.)  The 
worker  stands  constantly  over  a  rising  cloud  of  white  lead  dust 


398  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

He  is  protected  by  the  usual  device,  a  bandana  hankerchief.  This 
work  is  carried  on  in  a  poorly  ventilated,  dark  basement. 

The  separating  of  the  lead  carbonate  from  the  original  lead  is 
done  by  machinery  which  is  enclosed  throughout,  and  hence  not 
especially  dangerous  in  itself  to  the  workers.  This  process  removes 
the  corroded  portions  of  the  lead  and  rejects  the  uncorroded  parts. 
The  rooms  in  which  this  work  was  done  were  fairly  clean,  al- 
though there  was  a  considerable  deposit  of  white  lead  on  the 
floors  and  walls. 

The  next  form  in  which  the  lead  appears  is  in  solution  of  white 
lead  and  water.  In  this  form  it  is  not  especially  dangerous.  Thr 
solution  of  lead  is  run  into  basins  where  it  is  stirred  gently,  and 
the  lighter  ani  finer  lead  particles  are  run  off  over  a  sort  of  dam 
and  then  through  a  very  fine  mesh  screen,  which  eliminates  any 
gross  particles. 

4.  The  drying  room —  The  solution  of  lead  and  water  is  pumped 
to  the  drying  room,   where  it  is  deposited  in  long  shallow  vats 
which  are  arranged  in  two  tiers,  one  above  the  other.     The  tem- 
perature of  these  vats  is  raised  and  the  solution  gives  off  constant 
vapors.    The  ventilating  system  here  is  excellent    Two  large  fans 
in  one  end  of  the  room,  carry  out  the  air,  changing  it  every  three 
min,utes,  according  to  contract  with  the  ventilating  firm,  and  win- 
dows and  doors  are  numerous.    When  the  lead  has  well  dried  out 
it  is  shoveled  out  into  an  automatic  conveyor  which  carries  it  out 
to  the  grinding  and  mixing  machines. 

The  workers  in  this  department  (see  photo  No.  4)  are  provided 
with  bandana  handkerchiefs,  and  the  man  seen  in  the  picture 
claimed  that  he  was  in  the  best  of  health.  The  room,  however, 
is  a  source  of  danger  on  account  of  more  or  less  dust  in  shoveling, 
and  the  temperature  taken  at  the  time  of  inspection  was  72  de- 
grees, although  several  windows  were  open.  The  tendency  in  a 
superheated  room  such  as  this  is,  of  course,  to  keep  the  windows 
tightly  closed. 

5.  Grinding  and  mixing. —  The  grinding  and  mixing  work  is 
done  entirely  by  machinery,  but  the  feeding  is  done  by  hand,  and 
is  especially  dangerous.     (See  photo  No.  6.)     A  car  of  dry  white 


T3'S 


Xo.   7. —  FACTORY   A  —  WHITE   LEAD.     Filling  barrels  with   dry   white  lead  by  machinery. 


Xo.  S. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Filling  cans  with  white  lead  mixed  with  oil. 


No.  9. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Litharge  ovens. 


No.  10. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Exhaust  fans  from  litharge  furnaces. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  399 

lead  is  brought  to  the  open  mouth  of  the  grinding  machine.  The 
worker  then  shovels  it  from  the  car  into  the  machine.  The  white 
lead  dust  is  constantly  rising  about  him,  and  although  protected 
in  the  ordinary  way,  his  position  is  a  very  dangerous  one.  (See 
photo  No.  6.) 

<i.  Packing. — The  lead  from  this  point  is  ground  by  machinery 
and  mixed  with  oil,  and  comes  out  of  a  tube  below,  the  finished 
product,  ready  to  be  put  in  cans.  The  only  danger  in  filling  the 
cans  (see  photo  No.  8)  is  that  the  white  lead,  now  in  a  sticky, 
mushy  state,  will  be  conveyed  to  the  mouth  by  way  of  the  mous- 
tache or  beard,  and  hence  to  the  stomach.  The  workers  here  per- 
mit the  lead  to  run  slowly  into  the  cans,  which  are  standing  on 
scales,  until  it  reaches  a  given  weight.  The  supply  is  then  cut  off 
and  the  can  sealed  up  and  is  ready  for  shipment. 

7.  Barrel  filling. — A  certain  amount  of  dry  white  lead  is  sent 
out  in  barrels.  These  barrels  are  filled  mechanically,  are  protected 
by  exhausts,  and  are  covered  about  by  burlap  to  prevent  the  es- 
cape of  dust.  (See  photo  No.  7.)  The  only  danger  is  from  the 
escape  of  the  lead  dust  when  the  barrel  is  headed  up. 

II.     Manufacture  of  lead  oxide  —  red  lead  and  lead  litharge: 

1.  The  furnaces. —  The  pig  lead  is  placed  in  large  furnaces, 
which  resemble  those  uij  a  large  bakeshop.  The  lead  is  heated  to 
a  high  temperature  and  gradually  disintegrates  and  becomes  a 
powder  which  covers  the  floor  of  the  oven  to  a  thickness  of  three 
or  four  inches.  The  worker  then  rakes  this  mass  backward  and 
forward  with  a  long-handled  hoe,  called  a  "  ravel,"  exposing  as 
great  a  portion  of  the  lead  to  the  air  as  possible.  The  heat  here  is 
as  high  as  1800  degrees.  The  workers  do  not  work  continuously, 
since  there  is  on.e  man  to  a  furnace  and  a  considerable  part  of  the 
time  the  furnace  is  not  open.  The  fumes  given  off  here  are  dan- 
gerous, and  are  likely  to  be  highly  charged  with  lead  oxide,  and 
there  is  also  likelihood  of  the  distribution  of  red  lead  dust  through 
the  air  of  the  room.  The  furnaces  themselves  are  provided  with 
powerful  exhausts.  The  hoods  connecting  with  the  exhausts  extencl 


400  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

for  about  four  feet  in  front  of  the  worker,  protecting  him  from 
fumes  and  dust.     (See  photos  No.  9  and  No.  10.) 

2.  The  packing  of  red  lead. —  One  of  the  most  dangerous  jobs 
in  the  entire  factory  was  the  filling  of  small  kegs  with  red  lead. 
(See  photo  No.  11.)  The  worker  stood  near  a  window  with  an  open 
barrel  of  red  lead  powder  on  his  right  hand  and  a  scales  in  front 
of  him,  on  which  was  placed  a  small  keg  which  was  to  be  filled 
with  red  lead  powder.  This  he  scooped  from  the  barrel  with  an 
open  scoop  and  placed  slowly  in  the  small  keg,  until  the  weight 
was  right.  He  then  headed  the  keg  and  repeated  the  operation. 
Small  clouds  of  dust  could  be  seen  rising  on  each  repetition  of 
the  process.  The  little  Italian  worker,  upon  being  questioned, 
stated  that  he  had  worked  on  that  job  for  eight  months  and  "  never 
felt  better."  He  disclaimed  any  symptoms  of  lead  poisoning. 

III.     Provisions  for  Hygiene: 

The  superintendent  declared  that  the  firm  stood  ready  and  wished 
to  do  everything  in  its  power  to  safeguard  the  worker  against 
disease.  Their  works  are,  as  a  whole,  very  well  ventilated  and 
well  lighted.  Conditions  are  much  better  on  the  whole  than  those 
in  ordinary  factories. 

Whenever  an  employee  shows  signs  of  being  leaded  he  is  at 
once  asked  to  leave  and  find  employment  elsewhere.  This  may 
seem  hard  on  the  individual  worker,  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  it 
accomplishes  at  least  one  very  desirable  end,  namely,  it  removes 
the  individual  from  what  is  now  an  exceptionally  dangerous  posi- 
tion for  him.  No  physical  examinations  are  made  of  the  men, 
nor  is  any  track  kept  of  them  after  they  leave  the  employ  of  the 
concern.  There  is  no  doctor  connected  with  the  establishment. 

Throughout  the  works  there  are  signs  calling  for  "No  Smok- 
ing." These  signs  are  printed  in  three  languages, —  English,  Ital- 
ian and  Polish.  One  set  of  instructions  concerning  the  dangers 
of  the  work,  and  precautions  to  be  taken  to  guard  against  poison- 
ing, was  found.  These  instructions  were,  however,  printed  in 
English  and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  more  than  ten  per  cent  of 
the  employees  could  read  them. 


No.    11. —  FACTORY   A  —  WHITE   LEAD.     Very   small   buckets   being   filled   with 

powdered  red  lead. 


No.  12. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Washroom  and  toilets.     The  partition  at 
the  back  conceals  a  shower  bath. 


No.   13. —  FACTORY  A  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Bath  and  locker  rooms.     Eight  shower 
baths,  tables  where  lunch  may  be  eaten. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  401 

Respirators  are  furnished  the  men  but  they  refuse  to  wear  them, 
saying  that  they  irritate  their  faces.  They  do,  however,  most  of 
them,  wear  bandana  handkerchiefs  over  their  nostrils  and  mouths. 
The  firm  also  provides  cheesecloth  and  sponges  for  the  same  pur- 
pose, but  the  latter  also  are  not  worn  by  the  men. 

Each  worker  is  provided  with  one  clean  suit  of  white  overalls 
each  week.  He  is  also  provided  with  three  clean,  coarse,  heavy 
towels  per  week. 

There  are  several  wash  rooms  throughout  the  plant  and  one  small 
building  houses  a  locker  room,  about  a  dozen  shower  baths  and  a 
small,  rather  inadequate  lunch  room.  (See  photo  No.  13.)  The 
men  are  compelled  to  change  their  clothing  and  to  wash  up  at  the 
end  of  the  day's  work.  They  are  not  permitted  to  eat  their 
lunches  in  the  factory,  except  in  the  lunch  room  provided  by  the 
Company.  Most  of  them,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  go  to  nearby  saloons. 

Ventilation  is  good  throughout  the  plant.  In  the  dry  room  the 
fans  are  kept  constantly  in  motion  changing  the  air  every  three 
minutes.  In  other  places  where  there  is  special  need,  there  are 
exhausts,  as  for  example,  over  the  red  lead  ovens.  Here  the  fans 
on  the  floor  above  (see  photo  No.  10)  are  powerful  and  carry 
away  all  traces  of  the  fumes,  as  far  as  could  be  detected. 

IV.     Suggestions  for  Improvement: 

There  are,  in  addition  to  the  things  already  being  done,  certain 
improvements  which  would  materially  lessen  the  dangers  which 
are  still  great. 

Instructions  in  the  various  languages  known  to  the  -workers, 
should  be  distributed  throughout  the  factory  and  posted  in  con- 
spicuous places.  These  instructions  should  not  only  warn  the 
workers,  but  should  point  out  definite  things  to  do  in  order  to 
safeguard  themselves.  In  addition  to,  and  supplementing  this, 
if  some  person  acquainted  with  the  languages  of  the  various 
nationalities  would  personally  interview  each  man  and  instruct 
him,  much  could  be  accomplished. 

Additional  lunch-room  facilities  should  be  provided,  and  some 
kind  of  hot  lunch  should  be  sold.  This  would  tend  to  keep  the 
men  from  the  nearby  saloons,  where  a  large  portion  of  their  lunch 
must  be  the  beer  which  they  buy  for  the  privileges  of  the  saloon. 


402  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

In  the  case  of  the  worker  filling  small  kegs  with  red  lead,  a 
slight  exhaust  would  measurably  decrease  the  amount  of  lead  in 
the  atmosphere.  This  exhaust  should  be  placed  facing  the  worker, 
and  not  above  him,  so  that  the  dust  would  be  drawn  away  from 
him  and  not  up  in  his  face. 

A  similar  device  could  be  installed  in  the  case  of  workers  sup- 
plying the  separators  and  the  grinding  and  mixing  machines. 

No  doubt  a  much  larger  part  of  the  work  could  be  done  by 
machinery,  if  the  plant  were  a  little  better  arranged  and  the  proc- 
esses more  automatic  and  continuous. 

FACTORY  B. 
I.     Manufacture  of  White  Lead: 

This  factory  is  composed  of  a  number  of  very  old  buildings 
which  have  been  adapted  from  other  purposes  to  their  present 
uses.  It  is  quite  an  extensive  plant  and  has  a  large  number 
of  corroding  beds  where  the  old  Dutch  process  is  used.  There 
are  about  330  employees,  3  of  whom  are  women  employed  in  the 
office.  The  workers  are  mainly  Italians,  Poles,  Slavs  and 
Lithuanians. 

1.  The  casting  of  lead  buckles. —  The    room    in    which    this 
is  done  is  very  dark,  so  dark,  in  fact,  that  gas  had  to  be  lighted 
in  order  to  show  the  nature  of  the  work  done  there.     The  place  is 
ventilated  by  means  of  a  shaft  extending  to  the  roof  of  the  build- 
ing.    The  process  includes  the  melting  of  the  pig  lead  and  an  end- 
less chain  of  molds  which  passes  under  a  stream  of  the  molten 
metal.    The  lead  hardens  before  it  reaches  the  end  of  the  chain  and 
is  thrown  off  into  an  awaiting  cart. 

2.  The  corroding  beds. — The  corroding  beds  are  housed  in  large 
barnlike  structures  which  are  very  dark  and  almost  without  ven- 
tilation.    The  lead  buckles  are  placed  in  earthenware  jars,   the 
bottoms  of  which  have  been  glazed  on  the  inside  to  prevent  the 
absorption  of  the  acetic  acid  which  is  placed  within  them.    About 
a  pint  of  the  acid  is  placed  in  the  bottom  of  each  jar,  the  acid  is 
from  2  to  21/2  per  cent  solution.    The  floors  of  the  corroding  beds, 


No.  14.—  FACTORY  B  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Stripping  the  corroding  beds. 


No.  15.-  FACTORY  B- WHITE  LEAD.     Stripping  the  corroding  beds;  showin-  ap- 
pearance of  corroded  buckles  in  earthen  jars. 


S  E 


-    jium"^ 


2  g 

•<   o 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  403 

which  are  about  20  by  20  feet  square  and  enclosed  on  all 
sides  by  heavy,  wooden  partitions  to  the  height  of  about  20  ci 
25  feet,  are  first  covered  with  about  12  inches  of  tan  bark.  The 
earthenware  pots  containing  the  buckles  and  acetic  acid  are  then 
placed  on  the  tan  bark  as  close  together  as  possible.  Boards  are 
then  laid  over  the  jars,  another  layer  of  tan  bark  is  added  and 
another  layer  of  jars  and  so  on  to  a  height  of  from  18  to  20  feet. 
The  whole  mass  is  left  in  this  condition  for  about  100  days,  dur- 
ing which  time  it  reaches  a  temperature,  through  the  action  of  the 
acetic  acid  and  the  tan  bark  on  the  lead,  of  from  140  to  170  de- 
grees. With  the  "  stripping,"  so-called,  or  taking  down  of  these 
beds,  the  danger  of  working  with  white  lead  first  appears.  The 
removal  of  the  boards  reveals  the  buckles  encrusted  with  a  white 
frostlike  material,  which  is  the  corroded  lead  known  as  white  lead, 
or  lead  carbonate.  These  buckles  are  then  emptied  from  the  jars 
into  wheelbarrows.  (See  photos  Nos.  14  and  15.)  More  or  less 
dust  is  occasioned  during  this  process  as  the  men  must  stand 
directly  over  the  wheelbarrow  and  knock  out  the  contents  with 
their  hands.  The  men  working  here  were  not  protected  in  any 
way  —  a  few  wore  gloves,  but  respirators  and  nose  guards,  which 
had  been  provided  free  by  the  factory  authorities,  had  been  re- 
fused by  the  men.  Some  of  them  wore  bandana  handkerchiefs 
about  the  noses  and  mouths.  From  this  point  on  in  the  process 
there  is  practically  no  handling  of  the  lead  by  hand.  Therefore 
danger  is  greatly  minimized. 

3.  Feeding  corroded  buckles  into  the  separating  system. —  The 
corroded  lead  buckles  are  wheeled  from  the  corroding  bed  to  the 
entrance  of  the  separating  system,  sometimes  a  considerable  dis- 
tance, in  wheelbarrows.  The  wheelbarrow  is  wheeled  to  a  chute 
where  it  is  turned  on  its  side  and  the  contents  dumped  into  the 
separating  system.  This  chute  is  well  covered  by  a  hood  Which 
has  a  strong  exhaust  draft  acting  not  only  from  a  single  central 
chimney,  but  also  from  the  edges  of  the  hood,  thereby  preventing 
the  escape  of  dust  from  around  the  immediate  periphery  of  the 
hood.  (See  photo  No.  16.)  Several  wheelbarrows  were  emptied 
into  the  chute  while  the  inspector  was  watching  the  process  and  on 
each  occasion,  although  there  was  considerable  dust  raised,  it  was 


404  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

carried  off  immediately  and  almost  completely  by  the  powerful 
exhaust. 

4.  The  separating  and  refining  of  white  lead. —  From  the  time 
the  corroded  buckles  are  dumped  into  the  chute  described  above, 
the  lead  is  not  handled  in  the  dry  state.     It  is  carried  on  an 
automatic  elevator  from  the  bin  under  the  chute  to  the  separators. 
Here  it  is  shaken  about  through  several  screens  which  gradually 
eliminate  all  the  metallic  lead  and  reduce  the  carbonate  to  a  very 
fine  state.     A  plethora  of  water  is  then  added  to  the  dry  white 
lead  and  it  is  carried  through  a  succession  of  tanks  in  each  of 
which  the  coarser  particles  are  drained  off  until  it  reaches  a  final 
screen  which  is  in  constant  motion  and  permits  only  the  finest 
particles  to  go  through  and  rejects  any  that  may  still  be  too  coarse. 
(See  photo  No.  20.)   The  white  lead  is  then  in  solution  with  water 
and  is  pumped  into  tanks  where  oil  is  added.     The  lead  having 
greater  affinity  for  the  oil  unites  with  it  and  rejects  the  water 
which  consequently  rises  to  the  top  of  the  tank  and  is  pumped  off. 
The  white  lead  mixed  with  oil  is  then,  forced  through  tubes  to  the 
packing  tables. 

5.  Packing  the  lead. — The  white  lead  mixed  with  oil  is  now  in 
the  commercial  state.     It  is  run   into  metallic  cans   which   are 
set  on  scales.     When  the  package  has  attained  a  certain  weight 
the  worker  cuts  off  the  supply  and  clamps  on  the  top  of  the  can. 
The  only  danger  in  this  process  is  that  the  worker  will  smear 
the  lead  on  his  clothing  or  convey  it  in  some  way  to  his  mouth. 
With  ordinary  precaution  this  process  need  not  be  an  especially 
dangerous  one. 

6.  The  dump. — The  non-corroded  lead  which  is  rejected  by  the 
separating  system  is  thrown  out  of  a  chute  into  a  car.     The  chute 
is  provided  with  a  back  draft  exhaust  and  the  car  stands  in  a 
tightly-built  house.     (See  photo  No.  17.)     When  the  car  is  full  it 
is  taken  out,  wheeled  under  an  exhaust  and  covered  around  with 
a  huge  canvas  and  the  contents  dumped  out  on  the  floor.     A 
worker  then  shovels  the  lead  into  wheelbarrows  and  wheels  it  off 
to  be  remelted.     (See  photo  No.  18.)     This  process  is  a  dangerous 
one  and  seems  to  be  needlessly  lengthened  and  involved. 


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OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  405 

II.     Provisions  for  Hygiene: 

1.  The    dust    removal    system. —  Perhaps    the    most    notable 
feature  in  this  plant  is  the  system  for  the  removal  of  dust  from 
all  parts  of  the  establishment.     This  is  not  done  in  a  perfunctory 
manner,  but  there  has  been  installed  a  very  complete  and  efficient 
dust  removal  system.     It  is  so  efficient  that  there  is  very  little 
dust  to  be  seen  about  the  factory  or  collected  on  the  machinery. 
Even  machines  such  as  the  revolving  screens  are  enclosed  in  double 
jackets.     The  whole  system  culminates  in  a  dust  room  which  has 
recently  been  built  on  the  top  floor.     This  dust  house  contains 
two  large  bins  into  which  the  air  is  forced ;  above  these  bins  are 
suspended    bags    about    1    foot    in    diameter    and    24    feet    in 
height.    These  bags  are  made  of  cloth  which  permits  the  air  to  pass 
through,  but  retains  any  dust  particles.     As  long  as  the  air  pres- 
sure continues  the  bags  are  inflated,  but  with  the  reduction  of  the 
pressure  the  bags  collapse  and  dust  which  is  collected  drops  into 
the  bins  below.     Some  of  this  lead  dust,  however,  remains  ad- 
hering to  the  sides  of  the  bags.     The  system  is  so  arranged  that 
no  one  need  even  go  into  the  dust  house  to  shake  down  bags ;  this 
is  done  by  a  mechanical  contrivance  operated  from  the  outside 
of  the  house.     This  is  really  an  exfremely  good  system  and  is 
nowhere  in  the  country,  so  far  as  the  writer  knows,  in  use  on  such 
a  large  scale  as  it  is  in  this  plant. 

2.  The  blower  system. —  In  some  parts  of  the  factory  fresh  air 
is  forced  into  the  plant;  for  example,  in  the  engine  room  40,000 
cubic  feet  of  air  is  withdrawn  every  minute  and  30,000  cubic  feet 
of  fresh  air  is  forced  into  the  room.    The  atmosphere  in  the  engine 
room    was    not    super-heated    but    was    at    a    very    comfortable 
temperature. 

3.  A  new  welfare  building. —  At  present  this  factory  is  not 
doing  very  much  along  sanitary  lines,  but  there  is  at  present  under 
construction  a  large  building  which  will  cost  about  $25,000  and 
which    is    going    to    be    devoted    almost    entirely    to    improving 
hygienic  and  sanitary  conditions  among  the  workers.     This  new 
building,  which  is  to  be  on  the  immediate  factory  premises,  is  to 
contain    toilets,    shower    baths,    washrooms,    locker  rooms,    lunch 


406  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

rooms  and  kitchen.  The  arrangement  of  the  locker  room  is  par- 
ticularly interesting.  As  the  plans  are  now  drawn,  a  man,  will 
enter  the  building  from  the  factory  and  go  into  the  locker  room 
for  work  clothes.  Here  he  leaves  the  clothing  which  he  has  used 
during  the  day.  He  must  then  go  through  the  bathroom  in  order 
to  reach  the  locker  room  where  his  street  clothes  are  kept.  Every 
man,  therefore,  is  provided  with  two  lockers,  one  for  work  clothes 
and  one  for  street  clothes.  The  exact  policies  which  are  to  be 
pursued  in  dealing  with  workers  in  order  to  induce  them  to  use 
facilities  of  the  bathroom  have  not  been  fully  determined.  The 
superintendent  will  try  to  require  the  men  to  take  a  bath  each 
week  and  in  the  more  dangerous  parts  more  than  one  a  week. 

The  welfare  house,  as  it  is  called,  is  to  be  open  in  the  evening 
for  those  who  wish  to  come.  It  is  to  be  provided  with  checkers, 
dominoes  an,d  other  small  games.  When  this  building  has  been 
finished  and  is  in  operation,  a  considerable  difference  will  probably 
be  observed  in  the  conditions.  The  present  washing  facilities  are 
very  inadequate. 

4.  In  November,  1910,  a  doctor  was  established  in  this  plant. 
He  comes  every  day  at  eleven  o'clock  and  gives  attention  to  any 
who  need  it.  He  states  that  the  amount  of  lead  poisoning  has 
materially  decreased  since  his  coming  to  the  plant.  He  makes  no 
regular  physical  examination  but  goes  through  tne  plant  at  fre- 
quent intervals  and  looks  over  the  men;  any  that  seem  to  be  anemia 
are  sent  to  his  office  for  examination.  Most  of  the  cases  are,  how- 
ever, medical  cases  other  than  lead  poisoning,  and  accident  cases. 
rThe  doctor  reports  24  cases  of  lead  poisoning  from  November, 
1910,  to  November,  1911. 

III.     Suggestions  for  Improvement: 

There  are  two  or  three  things  that  might  very  well  be  done  in 
this  factory  which  the  writer  believes  would  considerably  improve 
the  conditions  and  decrease  the  amount  of  lead  poisoning. 

1.  Suits  of  overalls  should  be  furnished  the  men  at  stated 
intervals  —  perhaps  a  clean  suit  each  week. 


No.  24.—  FACTORY  C  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Casting  room. 


No.  25.—  FACTORY  C  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Stripping  the  corroding  beds. 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  407 

2.  Instructions  somewhat  more  explicit  as  to  the  care  of  the 
body    and    the    prevention    of   poisoning    should    be    distributed 
throughout  the  plant,  or  perhaps  handed  to  the  individual  work- 
men.    A  better  method  of  giving  the  men  instructions  would  be 
to  have  some  person,  fluent  in  the  languages  of  the  workers,  give 
them  individual  instruction. 

3.  Regular    physical    examinations    of    all    workers    would    be 
advisable. 

4.  With  the  facilities  to  be  provided  in.  the  new  welfare  house, 
the   men   in   the  most   dangerous  processes   might  very   well    be 
required  to  take  two,  or  even  more,  baths  per  week  and  be  exam- 
ined  by    their   foreman   as   to   whether   or   not    they    had    taken 
precautions  such  as  cleaning  of  teeth  and  fingernails. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  conditions  in  this  plant  have  greatly 
improved.  There  was  a  time  when  the  ambulance  was  a  frequent 
visitor  at  the  gates  of  the  factory.  There  was  also  a  time  when 
the  work  of  separating  the  white  lead  from  the  metallic  lead  was 
done  by  hand,  the  corroded  buckles  being  beaten  or  pounded  on 
large  tables.  Some  of  the  older  employees  give  vivid  descriptions 
of  the  conditions  in  the  plant  at  that  time.  The  present  system 
of  dust  removal  and  the  organization  of  a  continuous  system  of 
separating  and  refining  the  lead  without  hand  manipulation  has 
produced  vast  changes  for  the  better.  Among  the  interesting 
facts  given  by  the  head  of  the  factory,  was  that  the  chief  engineer 
had  at  one  time  suffered  from  lead  colic.  Lead  poisoning  does 
not  seem  to  be  a  respecter  of  persons. 

FACTORY  C. 
I.     Manufacture  of  White  Lead: 

This  factory  which  manufactures  white  lead  only  by  the  old 
system,  occupies  several  very  old  buildings.  Some  of  the  cor- 
roding sheds  are  so  dilapidated  as  to  be  quite  out  of  plumb,  and 
already  the  contents  are  being  removed  in  order  that  they  may 
be  rebuilt.  The  factory  employs  at  present  140  men.  The  table 
shown  herewith  shows  the  length  of  time  the  workers  have  been 
in  the  employ  of  this  factory.  It  will  be  noted  that  almost  half 


408 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


have  been  employed  less  than  one  year.  About  half  of  the  men 
are  native  Americans,  while  there  are  large  numbers  of  Ger- 
mans, Italians,  Slavs,  Poles  and  Lithuanians.  During  the 
past  summer,  as  the  season  was  somewhat  dull,  very  few  men 
were  employed,  usually  not  more  than  15.  The  notices  and 
warnings  about  the  plant  are  in  four  languages:  English,  Ger- 
man, Italian  and  Polish. 

1.  The  casting  of  lead  buckles. — The  casting  room  is  similar 
to.  those  in  other  factories.  The  furnaces  were  protected  by  hoods 
and  fumes  are  carried  off  by  an  ordinary  hood.  The  room,  how- 
ever, is  much  cleaner  than  that  in  the  other  factories,  and  one 
or  two  devices  have  been  added  which  considerably  improve 
conditions;  for  example,  the  endless  chain  on  which  the  buckles 
are  cast  is  placed  in  a  pit  on  either  side  of  the  furnace  (see  photo 
No.  24)  and  the  entire  surroundings  of  the  furnace  and  casting 
work  are  made  of  concrete.  The  buckles  are  cast  by  allowing  a 
stream  of  molten  lead  to  run  over  the  moulds,  which  when  they 
reach  the  end  of  the  chain  are  dumped  into  a  car.  An  old  Ger- 
man is  in  charge  of  this  work,  who  admitted  having  been  em- 
ployed in  the  lead  factory  for  about  28  years,  and  at  this  par- 
ticular job  for  15  years. 

EMPLOYEES  IN  FACTORY  C:    CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATIONS  AND 
LENGTH  OF  TIME  EMPLOYED.* 


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o 

"3 

• 

EXACT  OCCUPATION  or  WORKER 

a 
8 

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—  a 

V 

ij 

J3 

11 

Is 

IP 

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II 

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U 

I* 

Stack  dep't,  building  and  discharg- 

28 

3 

3 

4 

11 

6 

1 

Laborere  in  yard,  dock  and  store- 
house,  shipping   and   receiving 

lead     

13 

2 

2 

1 

4 

3 

1 

Night  watchman,  night  engineer.  . 
Mill  hands  grinding,  mixing  and 

3 

1 

1 

1 

packing  lead  

24 

4 

2 

2 

6 

3 

6 

1 

Engineers  dep't,  machinist,  pipe 
fitter,      blacksmith,      carpenter, 

10 

1 

1 

3 

4 

1 

Total  

68 

10 

8 

10 

25 

13 

9 

3 

•Information  furnished  by  superintendent. 


No.  26. —  FACTORY  C  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Emptying  corroded  bucklea  into  conveyors,  in 
the  corroding  stock  house. 


No.  27. —  FACTORY  C  —  WHITE  LEAD.     A  portion  of  the  separating  machinery. 


No.  28.—  FACTORY  C  —  WHITE  LEAD.     Drying  room. 


No.  29.—  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Lead  oxidizing  furnaces,  hand  type. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  409 

2.  The  corroding  sheds. — The  corroding  is  done  in  the  usual 
way  by  the  old  Dutch  process.     The  floor  of  the  bed  is  strewn 
with  tan  bark,  on  which  are  placed  the  earthenware  jars,  in  the 
bottom  of  each  of  which  is  about  a  pint  of  acetic  acid  (2  to  2^% 
solution).     The  buckles  are  then  placed  in  the  jars  above,  but 
not  in  the  acid;  a  layer  of  boards  is  placed  over  the  jars  con- 
taining the  buckles;  another  layer  of  tan  bark  is  placed  on  the 
boards,  more  earthen  jars  and  so  on.      In  the  building  up  of 
these  beds  there  is  comparatively  little  danger.     In  the  strip- 
ping of  the  beds,  however,  there  is  great  danger.     The  jars  are 
first  dumped  into  small  boxes  about  1^  by  2  feet  by  12  inches 

'deep.  (See  photo  No.  25.)  These  boxes  filled  with  corroded 
buckles  are  then  lowered  from  the  beds  to  a  car  into  which  they 
are  dumped.  This  car  is  covered;  the  cover  is  in  three  sections 
and  only  one  of  them  is  opened  at  any  one  time.  During  the 
process  of  removing  the  tan  bark  from  the  corroding  beds,  there 
is  a  considerable  amount  of  dust  raised  in  the  corroding  sheds. 
(See  photo  No.  26.)  Doubtless  the  tan  bark  dust  is  thoroughly 
impregnated  with  lead. 

3.  Removing  lead  and  separating  system. —  Cars  filled  with 
corroded  lead  buckles  are  taken  from  the  corroding  sheds  through 
a  tunnel  under  the  street  surface  to  the  beginning  of  the  grind- 
ing process.     The  car  is  then  hauled  to  a  chute,  opened  at  the 
bottom,  and  the  corroded  buckles  fall  into  bins  below,  which  are 
connected  with  the  grinding  system  above  by  means  of  an  auto- 
matic elevator.     In  this  chute  is  a  very  powerful  exhaust  which 
effectively  retains  the  dust.     The  white  condition  of  the  wood- 
work in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  which  the  cars  are  dumped,  tests 
the  presence  of  considerable  quantities  of  white  lead. 

4.  Separating   and   grinding. —  From   the   time   the   corroded 
lead  buckles  are  dumped  into  the  chute  and  enter  the  grinding 
system  until  the  white  lead  is  finally  packed  in  oil,  it  is  not 
again  exposed  to  the  air  in  a  dusty  state.    The  first  machine  sepa- 
rates the  corroded  white  lead  from  that  portion  of  the  buckle  which 
still  remains  uncorroded.     The  metallic  lead  is  rejected  and  is 


410  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

thrown  into  a  bin  which  stands  in  the  open  air  under  a  shed. 
The  white  lead  is  then  ground  up  and  passed  through  a  series  of 
screens  of  smaller  and  smaller  mesh.  It  is  then  carried  to  the 
floor  above  where  it  is  mixed  with  a  large  quantity  of  water. 
This  solution  of  water  and  white  lead  is  run  into  large  vats 
where  it  is  gently  stirred  —  a  process  calculated  to  send  heavier 
particles  to  the  bottom  and  to  drain  off,  over  a  sort  of  dam,  the 
lighter  and  finer  particles.  This  process  is  repeated  until  the 
lead  is  sent  through  a  very  fine  screen  with  a  mesh  measuring 
one  one-hundred  and  sixtieth  of  an  inch.  From  here  the  lead 
calculated  to  be  mixed  with  oil  is  run  into  a  large  tank  into 
which  oil  is  introduced.  The  lead  having  a  greater  affinity  for 
the  oil  than  for  water  and  being  somewhat  heavier  is  forced  to 
the  bottom.  The  water  which  remains  on  top  is  drained  off. 
The  lead,  after  being  thoroughly  ground  between  revolving  stones, 
is  forced  through  small  tubes  to  the  packers  who  weigh  it  into 
barrels  and  cans.  These  are  headed  up  and  the  white  lead  is 
then  ready  for  the  market.  This  latter  process  is  not  dangerous 
except  as  the  workers  get  white  lead  into  their  mouths. 

5.  The    drying   room. — The   lead   which   is    calculated   to  be 
packed  dry  is  piped  in  solution  to  the  drying  pans  which  occupy 
two  very  large  rooms.     (See  photo  No.  28.)     These  rooms  have 
many  good  sized  windows;  in  one  of  them  the  inspector  counted 
thirty.     There  is  also  a  large  60-inch  fan  conveying  the  air  from 
the  drying  room.     There  are  two  men  employed  in  this  depart- 
ment.    The  only  special  danger  comes  when  the  lead  is  dried 
and  is  ready  to  be  packed  in  barrels.     It  is  then  carried  to  the 
chute  and  put  into  packing  machines.     This  causes  considerable 
dust  and  exposes  the  workers  to  danger. 

6.  Packing  of  dry  white  lead. — The  machine   used  for  this 
purpose  is  similar  to  that  used  for  packing  red  lead  in  Factory 
P.     There  is  a  large  cylinder  which  descends  into  the  barrel  and 
fills  it  with  dry  white  lead  and  causes  little  or  no  duet.     The 
barrel  is  then  taken  from  the  machine  and  headed  up.     In  this 
last  process  there  is  mors  or  less  dust 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  411 

II.  Provisions  for  Hygiene. 

There  are  notices  posted  at  various  points  throughout  the  build- 
ing in  English,  German,  Italian  and  Polish,  instructing  the 
workers  as  to  the  dangers  of  the  business  and  calling  for  clean- 
liness and  care  on  their  part.  These  instructions  are  not  printed 
as  fully  as  they  might  be,  but  they  are  placed  in  several  parts 
of  the  factory.  A  wash  room  is  provided  for  the  men  which  is 
in  a  small  building  on  the  premises.  This  is  of  the  ordinary 
sink  type,  but  with  hot  and  cold  water.  Soap,  towels,  brushes 
and  work  clothes  are  not  provided.  The  superintendent  de- 
clares that  the  men  would  carry  them  off.  There  is  no  dust 
removal  system  similar  to  that  in  Factories  B  and  D.  A  doctor 
is  employed  by  the  factory  management  and  any  workers  who 
are  affected  in  any  way  are  sent  to  him  for  treatment.  Since 
the  first  of  January,  1911,  he  has  treated  the  following  classes 
of  cases:  traumatic  (accident)  8;  sickness  other  than  lead  poi- 
soning 6,  plumbism  (lead  poisoning)  8,  total  22.  Of  these  cases 
of  plumbism,  the  following  types  are  noted:  two  case  of  intes- 
tinal type  (mild),  one  case  intestinal  type  (severe),  four  cases  of 
chronic  type  (arterio  sclerosis,  anemia,  etc.),  1  case  of  sub-acute. 
The  doctor  visits  the  plant  regularly  each  week  and  examines  the 
men  in  a  casual  way;  that  is,  he  goes  through  the  factory  and 
picks  out  any  man  whom  he  thinks  looks  anemic  or  affected  in  any 
other  way. 

III.  Suggestions  for  Improvement: 

The  factory  on  the  whole  is  a  good  one  and  precautions  have 
been  taken.  There  is,  however,  no  dust  removal  system  simi- 
lar to  Factories  B  or  D,  which  would  be  the  first  and  primary 
improvement  to  be  made.  Suggestions  for  other  improvements 
would  include  the  following:  better  ventilation  of  the  corroding 
sheds,  and  the  wetting  down  of  the  tan  bark  with  sufficient 
thoroughness  to  prevent  the  raising  of  large  quantities  of  dust; 
the  enclosing  of  the  chutes  which  are  used  for  drying  the  white 
lead,  especially  in  the  drying  room;  the  provision  of  more  ade- 
quate washing  facilities  for  the  workmen;  shower  baths,  which 
the  workmen  should  be  required  to  use;  provision  of  a  place  for 


412  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

eating  lunch ;  provision  of  clean  working  clothes  each  week.  The 
superintendent  is  skeptical  about  providing  overalls,  but  it  is 
quite  evident  that  this  provision  has  worked  out  successfully 
in  at  least  one  other  plant. 

FACTORY  D. 

Manufacture  of  (1)  Red  Lead,  Lead  Litharge,  (2)  White  Lead 
by  Quick  Process,  (3)  Sugar  of  lead. 

The  manufacture  of  red  lead  is,  according  to  the  doctor  who 
attends  both  Factories  B  and  D,  more  dangerous  to  the  worker 
jthan  that  of  white  lead.  There  are  about  300  men  employed 
^n  the  white  lead  works  in  Factory  B,  and  about  80  in  the  red 
lead  works,  and  yet  he  declares  that  he  has  more  cases  of  plumb- 
jsm  in  the  red  lead  works  and  that  they  are  more  serious.  In 
Jhe  case  of  white  lead  a  simple  treatment  is  the  administration 
of  a  mild  sulphuric  acid  lemonade,  or  the  administering  of  some 
drug  like  potassium  iodide  or  magnesium  sulphide  which  will 
render  the  lead  into  lead  sulphate,  which  is  insoluble,  and  hence, 
with  a  good  physic  will  be  eliminated  from  the  alimentary  canal. 
,A.  little  rest  and  change  of  employment  will  effectually  relieve 
£he  case.  This,  however,  cannot  be  done  in  the  case  of  lead 
pxide,  red  lead  or  lead  litharge,  and  hence  the  lead  is  absorbed 
fry  the  body  tissues  and  when  a  sufficient  amount  is  present  the 
Individual  gives  way  to  one  or  another  of  the  forms  of  lead 
poisoning. 

.  The  factory  now  under  consideration  is  making  four  products: 
red  lead,  lead  litharge,  white  lead  (by  quick  process)  and  sugar 
of  lead  (lead  acetate).  Precautions  of  an  exceptional  nature 
Jiave  been  taken  and  the  cases  of  poisoning  have  decreased  dur- 
jng  the  last  few  years.  At  one  time  the  factory  enjoyed  a  very 
bad  reputation  —  workers  would  accept  jobs  there  only  when  no 
pther  employment  was  open  to  them.  The  work  is  almost  all 
unskilled,  the  men  seldom  earn  over  $17.00  per  week.  They 
are  mostly  Poles,  Slavs,  Lithuanians  and  a  few  Barbadoes  negroes. 
The  table  attached  herewith  throws  interesting  light  on  the 
length  of  time  that  the  men  employed  here  have  held  their 
positions. 


No.  30. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Lead  oxidizing  furnaces  —hand  type. 


No.  31. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Lead  oxidizing  furnace.     Mechanical  type; 
discharging  the  furnace. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


418 


EMPLOYEES  IN  FACTORY  D :    CLASSIFIED  BY  OCCUPATIONS  AND 
LENGTH  OF  TIME  EMPLOYED. 


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J 

J.     The  Manufacture  of  Lead  Oxide,  Red  Lead,  Lead  Litharge: 

1.  Oxidizing  furnaces. — The  first  process  in  the  making  of 
lead  oxide,  red  lead  and  lead  litharge  is  the  burning  or  oxidizing 
of  the  metallic  lead.  The  lead  pigs  are  introduced  into  the  fur- 
naces which  are  kept  at  temperatures  of  from  800  degrees  to 
1,700  degrees.  The  metallic  lead  quickly  melts.  The  worker 
who  attends  the  furnace  is  armed  with  a  long-handled  hoe,  called 
a  "  ravel,"  with  which  he  rakes  backward  and  forward  the  molten 
metal.  (See  photos  No.  29  and  30.)  There  is  a  powerful 
firaft  through  the  furnace,  which  continually  passes  over  the  lead. 
,The  oxygen  of  the  air  gradually  unites  with  the  lead  to  form 
Jead  oxide  (Pb  0).  The  molten  mass  gradually  changes  form 
and  becomes  a  powder  of  a  light  yellowish  hue.  This  is  lead 
litharge.  The  furnacemen  work  only  about  one-half  the  time; 
jthat  is,  they  rake  over  the  lead  for  about  fifteen  or  twenty  min- 
utes, and  then  close  their  furnaces  and  wait  during  an  interval 
pf  about  the  same  length,  and  then  repeat  the  process.  One  man 
only  is  employed  to  each  furnace.  The  furnaces  are  not  pro- 
vided with  any  special  exhausts.  It  is  a  question  as  to  whether 
they  are  needed.  There  is  a  powerful  draft  through  the  furnace 
pulling  any  fumes  away  from  the  open  door  and  up  the  chimney. 
Any  fumes  which  escape,  however,  when  the  doors  are  closed  are 
not  drawn  off,  and  any  dust  raised  in  the  process  of  drawing  is 
not  removed. 


414  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

2.  Drawing  the  furnaces. —  When  the  lead  is  sufficiently  oxi- 
dized, the  furnaces  are  emptied  —  the  lead  is  raked  out  through 
the  oven  door  into  cars  which  are  backed  up  against  the  ovens. 
The  lead  piled  high  in  these  cars  then  stands  in  the  furnace  room 
until  cooled.      Here  is  a  possible  source  of  danger.      (See  photos 
Nos.  29,  30.)    Much  of  the  finely  powdered  lead  escapes  into  the 
atmosphere,  as  the  material  is  raked  from  the  ovens  or  from  the 
uncovered  cars  as  they  stand  in  the  workroom.     The  only  differ- 
ence between  the  manufacture  of  red  lead  and  lead  litharge  is 
{hat  the  red  lead  must  remain  in  the  ovens,  subject  to  the  oxidizing 
jprocess,  considerably  longer  than  the  yellow  lead  or  lead  litharge. 
Otherwise  the  processes  are  almost  indentical. 

3.  Delivery  of  lead  to  the  milling  machines. —  The  lead  oxide 
carried  in  the  open  cars  described  above,  is  pushed  to  an  open 
chute  where  it  is  tipped  out  and  dumped.     Considerable  dust  is 
raised  by  this  process  and  the  worker  at  this  particular  job  is 
exposed  to  more  or  less  dust  of  red  lead  and  lead  litharge.     (See 
photo  No.  32.) 

,  4.  Grinding  and  refining  of  the  red  lead  and  lead  litharge.— 
From  this  chute  the  lead  oxide  is  carried  automatically 
to  the  upper  floors  of  the  building.  Here  the  process 
of  grinding  and  refining  begins.  The  lead  which  is  fine 
enough  is  drawn  off  by  an  endless  screw  and  the  heavier 
particles  are  rejected.  This  process  is  repeated  over  and 
over  until  a  certain  degree  of  fineness  is  attained.  In 
the  various  rooms  where  the  grinding  and  sifting  is  carried  on 
there  is  an  almost  complete  absence  of  dust.  The  machines  are 
very  carefully  and  completely  enclosed.  The  separating  machines 
are  enclosed  in  double  wooden  jackets.  There  is  seldom  neces- 
sity for  opening  the  machines  and  then  only  for  repairs,  as  they 
are  self-cleaning.  Whenever  it  is  necessary  to  repair  any  part  of 
of  them  the  whole  system  is  immediately  shut  down.  So  complete 
is  this  dust  removal  system,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  film  of  dust 
on  the  walls  or  on  the  machinery.  (See  photos  Nos.  33,  34.) 

5.  Packing  red  lead  and  lead  litharge. —  The  packing  of  lead 
litharge  is  done  dry  and  is  largely  done  by  machinery.     The 


No.  32.—  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Drawing  the  lead  rejected  from  the  screens 

into  a  car. 


No.  33.—  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Separating  and  conveying  machinery. 


No.   34. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     High  speed  grinding  mills.     The  large 
pipes  and  inverted  pyramids  are  part  of  the  dust  removal  system. 


Xo.  35. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  OXIDE.     Filling  barrels  with   lead   litharge    (oxide 

of  lead). 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  415 

barrel  is  placed  under  a  machine  (see  photos  No.  35,  36)  and  the 
lead  is  then  slowly  emptied  into  the  barrel.  This  part  of  the  pro- 
,cess  is  done  without  dust.  The  filling  part  of  the  machine,  a 
,large  round  cylinder,  is  then  raised  and  the  supply  of  lead  is  cut 
off.  There  is  little  dust  in  this  process.  The  barrel,  which  is  on 
Boilers,  is  then  rolled  away  from  the  machine  and  a  head  is  put 
pn,  which  again  causes  considerable  dust.  The  negro  who  appears 
in  photograph  No.  35  has  worked  in  this  particular  work  for 
five  years  and  has  been  absent  only  one  week;  this  absence  was 
pccasioned  by  a  severe  fall.  In  this  department  the  workers  are, 
most  of  them,  using  bandana  handkerchiefs  about  mouths  and 
nostrils.  This  is  the  last  process  in  the  manufacture  of  lead 
litharge. 

II.     Hygienic  Provisions-' 

1.  The  dust  system. —  As  indicated  above  in  describing  the  vari- 
ous rooms  where  lead  oxide  is  ground,  the  system  of  dust  removal 
js  excellent.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  photograph  showing  rooms 
filled  with  machinery,  there  are  long  pipes  leading  in  every  direc- 
tion; these  pipes  convey  dust  from  the  various  machines  to  the 
dust  room.  These  machines  are  provided  with  very  powerful 
|Bxhausts  and  the  suction  is  so  great  that  even  when  one  of  the 
great  bins  into  which  the  dry  lead  dust  is  constantly  pouring 
was  opened  for  the  writer's  inspection,  there  was  no  dust  emitted 
.into  the  room.  This  dust  taken  from  all  parts  of  the  factory  is 
conveyed  to  the  dust  room.  Here  there  are  two  methods  of  dust 
disposal.  The  one  which  will  be  seen  at  the  left  in  photograph 
No.  37  is  the  older  and  is  rather  difficult  to  manage  because  the 
bags  are  placed  so  close  together  that  whenever  a  bag  breaks 
especially  those  in  the  center,  it  is  very  difficult  to  make  repairs. 
The  newer  system  of  bags  is  seen  in  photograph  No.  37.  These 
,may  be  easily  removed  and  adjusted.  All  the  dust  is  conveyed 
jnto  the  large  receiving  bins  which  are  seen  above  and  below  the 
jbags.  As  long  as  the  air  pressure  remains  on,  these  bags  are 
plistended,  but  when  the  pressure  is  released  they  flatten  out  and 
pollapse  and  the  dust  which  is  adhering  to  their  sides  is  precipi- 
tated into  the  bin  below.  It  is  not  necessary  to  clean  out  this 


416  OCCUPATION  AX  DISEASES. 

Jbin  more  than  once  in  a  year  and  a  half;  when  this  is  done  the 
entire  system  is  shut  down.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  even  in  the 
dust  room  there  is  very  little  dust  to  be  seen  clinging  to  the  walls 
or  on  the  floor. 

(  2.  Miscellaneous  provisions. —  The  workmen  are  provided  with 
a  washroom  and  a  room  where  they  can  put  their  street  clothing. 
,This  room  is  in  the  cellar  and  is  lighted  by  one  small  window 
only,  necessitating  the  use  of  gas.  At  one  end  of  the  room,  which 
Js  screened  off  by  an  iron  lattice  partition,  there  is  a  series  of 
Jiooks  where  the  men  can  put  their  street  clothing.  This  part  of 
jthe  room  may  be  locked.  There  are  benches  in  the  room  but  no 
Cockers.  The  superintendent,  however,  finds  this  system  more 
satisfactory  than  lockers  which,  he  contends,  quickly  fill  with  refuse 
and  various  odds  and  ends  and  are  difficult  to  keep  clean.  There 
are  about  ten  washbowls  provided  with  hot  and  cold  water.  Origi- 
nally, three  shower-baths  were  installed  in  this  room  but  the  men 
(did  not  use  them;  in  fact,  the  superintendent  tells  me  that  the 
pnly  man  he  knows  of  who  took  a  bath,  never  came  back  to  work. 
J3o  towels,  soap  or  brushes  are  provided.  No  overalls  or  work 
clothing  are  provided.  Doubtless  one  of  the  reasons  why  the 
men  did  not  care  to  take  baths  is  that  the  place  set  aside  for  this 
purpose  is  so  dark  and  dingy.  On  the  whole,  the  provisions 
,for  washing  and  personal  hygiene  may  be  said  to  be  inadequate 
in  this  plant.  There  has  been  a  great  diminution  in  the  number 
pf  cases  of  lead  poisoning  since  the  introduction  of  the  dust  re- 
moval system. 

,111.     The  Manufacture  of  White  Lead  by  the  Quick  Process: 

,  The  manufacturers  of  white  lead  have  for  many  years  been 
^searching  for  a  quick  process  for  making  white  lead.  One  of  the 
processes,  the  so-called  "  Carter  ''  process,  is  used  in  one  depart- 
ment of  this  factory  for  manufacturing  white  lead.  The  product 
which  results  is  white  lead;  in  fact,  it  is  much  whiter  lead  than 
was  made  by  the  old  "  Dutch  "  process.  Many  painters  find  it  con- 
venient to  put  a  little  of  the  quick  process  white  lead  into  a 
quantity  of  old  Dutch  white  lead  in  order  to  give  a  whiter  color. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  417 

The  quick  process  white  lead,  however,  has  not  the  hiding  power 
of  that  made  by  the  old  "  Dutch  "  process.  Its  grain,  or  texture, 
js  so  fine  that  it  can  not  be  used  as  a  coverer.  The  process,  which 
presents  very  litle  danger  aside  from  handling  of  the  lead,  is  a 
comparatively  quick  one  since  it  may  be  made  in  about  24  hours. 
,It  is,  however,  on  the  whole,  more  expensive  because  with  a  given 
area  a  smaller  quantity  in  the  long  run  can  be  made.  The  molten 
metallic  lead  is  run  through  water  which  brings  it  out  in  com- 
paratively small  pieces  in  a  rough,  ragged  condition.  This  lead 
,is  placed  in  a  large  vat  to  which  acetic  acid  is  added;  a  lead 
carbonate  is  then  formed  by  the  combination  of  the  lead  with  the 
acetic  acid.  It  then  runs  through  several  processes  which  are 
entirely  enclosed  and  from  which  there  escapes  neither  fumes  nor 
dust.  The  finished  product  is  white  lead  and  oil.  The  lead 
throughout  this  process  is  never  in  a  dry  state  and,  therefore,  the 
danger  is  minimized. 

JV.     Manufacture  of  Sugar  of  Lead: 

The  manufacture  of  sugar  of  lead  is  also  carried  on  in  this 
plant,  and  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  processes.  Lead 
litharge  is  mixed  in  large  vats  with  acetic  acid;  it  is 
then  boiled  and  run  into  vats  where  it  is  allowed  to  crystallize. 
One  boiling,  however,  is  not  sufficient  to  purify  it  or  to  reduce  it  to 
jthe  necessary  fineness  of  texture.  It  is  then  reboiled  and  again 
Allowed  to  run  into  vats  where  it  crystallizes.  This  is  the  final 
process  and  lead  sugar  or  lead  acetate  results.  The  sugar  of  lead 
jtself  is  poisonous.  It  is  very  sweet  to  the  taste  and  is  very 
soluble,  which  make  it  especially  dangerous.  It  is  constantly 
exposed  in  a  dry  state  and  several  men  come  closely  in  contact 
with  it.  They  handle  it  with  their  bare  hands  and  hence  fre- 
quently get  it  into  their  mouths. 

II.     MANUFACTURE  OF  PAINT  AND  COLORS 

The  industry,  which  is  second  only  to  the  manufacture  of  car- 
bonate of  lead  and  lead  oxide  as  a  source  of  lead  poisoning,  is  the 
manufacture  of  colors,  both  oil  colors  and  dry  colors.     In  this 
group  of  industries,  two  factories  have  been  inspected.     On  the 
14 


418  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

whole,  the  sanitary  and  hygienic  conditions  were  much  worse  than 
in  the  factories  manufacturing  the  red  and  white  lead.  The  reasons 
for  such  conditions  are  not  far  to  seek.  In  the  first  place,  many  of 
the  factories  manufacturing  paints  and  colors  are  much  smaller 
than  those  manufacturing  red  and  white  lead.  The  latter  products 
can  only  be  successfully  made  in  comparatively  large  plants  - 
plants  large  enough  to  keep  a  force  of  men  continuously  building 
and  stripping  the  corroding  beds,  each  of  which  remains  undis- 
turbed for  100  days.  In  the  manufacture  of  paints  and  colors, 
however,  a  small  grinding  mill  and  a  little  dry  room  suffice.  This 
may  appear  to  be  uneconomical  production,  but  many  concerns,  not 
paint  manufacturers,  grind  and  mix  their  own  paints.  A  second 
reason  for  the  relatively  bad  conditions  in  this  group  of  factories 
is  that  lead  poisoning  is  less  prominent  —  the  danger  has  not  been 
brought  home  to  the  manufacturer  as  closely  and  convincingly  as 
it  has  in  the  case  of  the  white  lead  works.  The  inspectors  in 
their  examinations  of  those  factories  have  found  employers  who 
did  not  recognize  the  seriousness  of  lead  poisoning  in  the  least. 
Jn  fact,  in  none  of  the  factories  making  paints  and  dry  colors 
were  printed  instructions  concerning  the  dangers  of  the  work 
posted  in  the  factories.  Very  often  superintendents  claimed  that 
they  or  their  foremen  instructed  the  workers  personally,  but  the 
very  fact  that  a  small  proportion  of  those  employed  spok ;  English 
and  that  orders  were  habitually  given  in  pantomime  establishes 
the  futility  of  such  instructions  even  if  conscientiously  carried 
out. 

Conditions  in  some  of  these  factories  were  really  deplorable. 
Dressing  and  locker  rooms,  when  provided  at  all,  were  of  the 
most  primitive  sort.  Photograph  No.  75  shows  a  typical  dressing 
room  —  small,  dirty,  unventilated,  a  leaky  shower  bath  in  the 
center  of  the  room.  On  the  other  hand,  conditions  are  very  differ- 
ent in  comparatively  modern  factories  where  considerable  care 
is  taken  of  the  workers.  Systems  of  ventilation,  if  present  at  all, 
were  often  not  such  as  to  be  of  value.  One  large  dry  color  fac- 
tory had  installed  a  very  complete  dust  removal  system.  But 


No.^38. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.     Mixing  white  lead  with  oil. 


No.  39. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.    White  lead  department. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  4-19 

unfortunately,  the  exhausts  on  the  grinding  machines  for  example, 
were  far  above  the  machine  and  above  the  heads  of  the  operatives. 
If,  then,  they  worked  with  any  effectiveness  their  sole  result  was 
to  pull  the  dust  up  into  the  faces  of  the  workers.  Only  a  system 
of  localized  exhausts  —  exhausts  immediately  over  and  if  possible 
enclosing  the  machinery  —  will  be  effective  in  protecting  the 
workers. 

Many  of  the  plants  which  manufacture  dry  colors  also  manu- 
facture Paris  green.  A  full  description  of  some  of  the  processes 
in  these  factories  will  be  found  in  Appendix  A  to  this  report. 

From  the  paint  manufacturers  it  was  learned  that  pure  white 
carbonate  of  lead  is  passing  out  of  use  and  that  it  is  being  re- 
placed by  zinc  white,  or  a  new  white  lead  called  "  sublimed  "  lead, 
which  is  not  as  poisonous  or  as  injurious  as  the  carbonate  of  lead. 
Xhis  new  paint,  the  manufactureres  contend,  has  not  as  great 
"'  hiding  "  power  as  the  old  "  Dutch  "  process  lead  but  has  greater 
"  covering  "  power.  The  distinction  is  this  —  the  carbonate  of 
lead  will  cover  up  and  completely  hide  dark  figures,  a  thing 
which  would  perhaps  require  two  or  more  coats  of  the  zinc  white 
or  the  "  sublimed  "  lead.  The  latter,  however,  in  merely  covering 
surface  will  go  much  further  on  account  of  a  greater  capacity 
to  absorb  oil.  The  exact  facts  concerning  these  substitutes  for 
white  carbonate  of  lead  produced  by  the  old  "  Dutch "  process 
could  be  determined  only  after  an  exhaustive  investigation.  It 
is  sufficient  to  state  here  that  there  are  now  substitutes  for  pure 
white  lead  which  are  less  injurious  on  the  market,  for  which  the 
makers  claim  superior  advantages  and  which  seem  to  be  competing 
Successfully  with  the  original  product.  Much  of  the  so-called 
"  white  lead  "  which  is  sold  on  the  market  as  "  pure  white  lead  " 
js  not  carbonate  of  lead  produced  by  the  old  "  Dutch  "  process 
at  all,  but  is  composed  largely  of  zinc  white  and  "  sublimed  "  lead. 

In  the  descriptions  of  the  factories  which  follow,  no  attempt 
will  bo  made  to  divide  the  manufacturers  of  paints  mixed  with  oil 
and  those  making  dry  colors.  Many  plants  make  both  kinds  of 
colors. 


420  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

FACTORY  A 
I.  Manufacture  of  Paints  and  Chrome  Colors: 

This  factory  employs  about  150  people,  of  whom  about  25  are 
women.  They  are  of  many  nationalities,  the  majority,  perhaps, 
are  Americans,  but  there  are  also  large  numbers  of  Poles,  Russians, 
Italians  and  other  recent  immigrants.  The  plant  occupies  a  new 
and  rather  well  arranged,  well  ventilated  and  well  equipped 
building.  The  processes  are  complicated  and  much  of  it  is  of 
a  mechanical  nature ;  the  actual  handling  of  the  products  by  hand 
is  not  usually  necessary.  Precautions  have  been  taken 
throughout  the  factory  to  prevent  poisoning.  Every  roan  employed 
is  required  to  sign  a  release,  exonerating  the  company  in  case  of 
accident  or  disease.  In  consideration  of  this  release  a  few  of 
the  employees  who  are  most  endangered  are  given  somewhat 
higher  wages. 

1.  Mixing  solutions  and  drying  colors. —  The  various  colors  for 
making  paints  are  mixed  in  large  vats.     In  some  of  these  pro- 
cesses there  is  danger,  arising  from  fumes  or  from  dirty  hands 
#nd  clothing,  but  ordinarily  the  wet  processes  of  mixing  paints 
are  non-injurious.    The  solutions  in  the  smaller  vats  are  drained  off 
into  other  larger  vats  and  water  is  added  which  is  designed  to  wash 
,the  colors  thoroughly.     The  heavier  portions  gradually  settle  to 
the  bottom  and  the  water  is  drained  off.     The  residue,  which  is 
.pure  color  slightly  moist,   is  taken  out  and  put  on  racks  and 
ponveyed  to  the  drying  room  where  all  moisture  is  finally  elimin- 
ated.    The  color  is  then  ready  to  be  ground.     There  is  more  or 
less  danger  in  handling  these  colors  which  increases  as  they  be- 
come more  concentrated  and  drier. 

2.  Grinding  and  mixing  oil  colors. —  The  process  begins  with 
,the  arrival  of  the  white  lead  which  is  in  a  dry  powdered  form. 
This  lead  is  thrown  into  chutes  which  lead  to  grinding  machines 
on  the  floor  below.     (See  photo  No.  38.)     The  foreman  in  this 
Department  declared  that  the  white  lead  was  usually  mixed  with 
oil  before  being  put  into  the  chutes  and  a  couple  of  small  hand 
cars  nearby  were  filled  with  an  oil  mixture  of  white  lead.    How- 


No.  40. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.     Grinding  red  colors 


No.  41. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.     Grinding  green  colors. 


No.  42. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.     Dust  house.     The  dust  is  brought  here  by_meana 

of  a  suction  fan. 


No.  43. —  FACTORY  A  —  PAINTS.     Arrangement  of  vats  in  red  color  room, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  421 

ever,  while  the  inspector  was  in  the  room  a  workman  began  to  fill 
pne  of  the  cars,  taking  the  dry  white  lead  powder  from  a  barrel 
,and  dumping  it  into  one  of  the  cars.  There  was  no  oil  in  the 
par  before  the  lead  was  put  in,  the  workman,  however,  immediately 
.rectified  the  mistake  by  dashing  for  a  can  of  oil  which  he  dumped 
into  the  car.  (See  photo  No.  39.)  The  grinding  and  mixing  of  the 
white  lead  and  oil  is  done  largely  by  machines  and  furnishes 
very  little  opportunity  for  dangerous  contact  with  the  lead  com- 
pounds. 

3.  The  mixing  and  grinding  of  colors. —  Dry  colors  after  leav- 
ing the  drying  room  are  taken  to  the  grinding  and  mixing 
machines.  These  occupy  an  entire  floor  of  the  building,  but  the 
room  was  so  dark  when  the  inspector  arrived  at  4:00  p.  M.,  that 
photographs  could  not  be  taken  by  natural  light.  The  room  was 
also  filled  with  dust.  Machines  which  are  set  about  the  room 
.are  of  different  colors  indicating  the  color  mixed  in  each.  Chunks 
of  color  material  are  thrown  in  at  the  top  of  the  machine  and 
ground  between  two  revolving  stones  (isee  photos  Nos.  40,  41)  with 
a  circular  motion.  There  is  more  or  less  dust  accompanying  this 
process,  which,  in  case  of  the  chrome  colors,  is  dangerous.  In 
fact,  almost  all  of  these  colors  have  some  lead  in  them  which  varies 
.from  5  to  80  %.  The  worker  stands  in  front  of  the  machine  and 
with  a  wooden  hoe  pulls  backward  and  forward  the  finely 
powdered  colors  which  are  within.  More  or  less  dust  was  con- 
stantly escaping.  At  one  of  these  machines  a  worker  was  observed 
cleaning  out  the  wooden  bin  into  which  the  colors  had  boon  put. 
He  was  on  his  hands  and  knees  in  front  of  the  low  opening  and 
was  brushing  out  the  color  with  a  fine  brush.  Clouds  of  dust 
were  coming  from  the  wooden  bin  and  rising  about  his  face  and 
head.  All  the  men  that  worked  in  this  department  v/ere  very 
.dirty,  their  faces  were  covered  with  many  hues  of  the  rainbow. 
The  foreman  of  this  work  declared  there  had  been  no  cases  of 
lead  poisoning  for  forty  years.  One  of  the  workers  there  who 
was  approached  in  the  absence  of  the  superintendent  and  foreman 
said  several  of  the  men  l>ad  had  attacks  of  lead  colic  and  that 
at  that  moment  two  men  were  home  on  that  account. 


422  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

4.  Making  of  water  colors. —  In  a  small,  light,  well  ventilated 
workroom  there  were  two  or  three  men  and  four  girls  packing 
various  shades  of  color  which  were  put  up  in  little  packages  for 
use  of  water  color  painters  and  for  use  in  schools.     The  foreman 
4n  charge  declared  that  there  was  no  lead  used  in  paints  made  in 
this    department    because   school   authorities    would    not    permit 
poisonous  paints  to  be  used  in  schools. 

5.  Labeling  cans. —  There  were  a  number   of  young  women 
working  in  the  labeling  department,  but  none  of  these  come  in 
contact  with  the  lead. 

6.  The   making  of  tin  cans. —  This   firm  makes  its  own  tin 
cans  which  is  done  in  a  large  well  lighted  and  well  ventilated  room. 
The  only  danger  in  this  process  is  the  soldering,  but  so  little  work 
is  done  and  the  conditions  are  so  good  that  it  is  very  doubtful 
whether  there  is  any  danger. 

II.     Provisions  for  Hygiene. 

On  the  whole,  this  establishment  can  be  said  to  be  relatively 
a  good  one.  There  are  a  number  of  precautions  taken  which 
deserve  mention.  There  are  washrooms  and  lockers  for  both  men 
and  women  scattered  at  various  points  throughout  the  factory. 
There  is  a  ventilation  system  which  connects  with  all  parts  of 
the  plant.  It  is,  however,  a  general  system  and  not  localized. 
.This  would  be  a  very  good  system  for  a  clothing  factory,  but  in 
.a  dusty  trade  it  does  not  meet  the  needs  of  the  situation.  All 
the  dust  is  conveyed  from  the  various  machines  to  the  roof  where 
it  is  caught  in  dust  houses.  (See  photo  No.  42.)  These  dust 
.houses  are  of  various  colors  due  to  the  kind  of  color  used  in  the 
.machines.  They  are  about  eight  feet  by  eight  feet  by  six  feet 
and  screened  on  three  sides,  which  permits  the  air  to  pass  through 
and  out  but  retains  all  the  color  materials.  These  houses  also 
.contain  the  exhaust  fans.  The  workers  are  furnished  with  various 
safeguards,  such  as  respirators.  They  are  instructed  to  some 
extent  as  to  the  dangerous  character  of  the  business.  They  are 
given  towels,  soap,  overalls,  clean  linen  cloths  and  various  other 


J 


No.  44. —  FACTORY  B  —  PAINTS.     Steam  pressing  blue  colors. 


Xo.  4o. —  FACTORY  B  —  PAINTS.     Emptying  lake  colors  from  drying  room  into  barrels. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  423 

.sanitary  conveniences.  There  are  no  printed  instructions  posted 
throughout  the  shop.  The  men  who  are  at  work  at  the  dangerous 
occupations  are  paid  somewhat  higher  wages,  but  the  occupations 
which  are  considered  dangerous  are  absurdly  few. 

JII.     Suggestions  for  Improvements: 

The  principal  suggestion  to  be  made  is  that  there  be  a  system 
of  local  ventilation  with  powerful  exhausts  placed  immediately  in 
.front  of  the  dusty  processes  to  take  the  dust  away  from  the 
workmen. 

A  useful  improvement  would  be  the  enclosing  of  the  machinery 
,in  dust  jackets.  This  is  especially  true  of  the  parts  connected 
.with  the  grinding  of  colors.  This  process  could  thereby  be  ren- 
.dered  almost  dust  tight.  Compulsory  washing  and  bathing  would 
doubtless  reduce  danger  and  the  installation  of  a  lunch  room  apart 
from  the  place  of  work  would  be  an  improvement,  as  at  present 
men  are  permitted  to  eat  in  the  workrooms. 

FACTORY  B 

Man u f (tcf  tire  of  Dry  Colors: 

This  is  one  of  the  largest  plants  in  this  line  of  business  and 
employs  70  men.  The  hours  are  ten  per  day,  nine  on  Saturday, 
59  hours  a  week.  The  manufacture  of  any  dry  color  is  essentially 
a  simple  process,  although  it  takes  considerable  time  and  a  large 
amount  of  space  with  a  small  labor  supply.  The  processes  may 
be  divided  into  the  main  stages: 

1.  The  boiling  and  preparing  of  the  solution. 

2.  Washing  out  of  the  acids. 

3.  Filtering  and  pressing  of  the  solid  residue. 

4.  Drying  of  the  pigments. 

5.  Disintegration  and  bolting  process. 

6.  Packing. 


424  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

In  this  particular  establishment  there  are  four  dry  color  depart- 
ments. These  are: 

a.  Manufacture  of  lake  colors. 

b.  Manufacture  of  blue  —  prussian  blue,  purple,  etc. 

c.  Manufacture  of  yellow  ochre,  sienna,  etc. 

d.  Manufacture  of  green  color. 

(a.)  The  manufacture  of  lake  colors. —  The  original  pigments 
are  first  boiled  in  large  vats  which  are  near  the  top  of  a  large 
barn-like  room  (see  photo  No.  43).  These  vats  are  placed  one 
above  the  other.  The  top  vat  is  where  the  boiling  in  done ;  from 
this  vat  the  solution  is  conveyed  to  the  lower  tank  where  the 
oxidizing  agents  are  added;  in  a  still  lower  and  larger  vat  the 
colors  are  thoroughly  washed  and  then  drained  off  into  the  filter. 
This  filter  may  be  of  two  kinds;  first,  the  old  hand  press  which 
has  come  down  from  the  time  of  the  Pharaohs.  It  consists  of 
filling  bags  with  the  wet  color  mixture  and  piling  them  one  above 
the  other.  A  man  squeezes  out  the  moisture  with  a,  long  wooden 
lever  which  he  leaves  with  a  weight  attached  to  hold  down  the  bags 
of  color.  The  process  is  used  where  the  material  is  wanted  for 
shipment  in  a  wet  state.  The  other  and  more  modern  process  is  to 
force  the  diluted  mixture  into  a  series  of  filters.  Here  it  is  pressed 
by  hydraulic  machinery.  When  it  comes  from  this  filtering  pro- 
cess it  is  sometimes  shipped  immediately,  but  a  large  part  of  the 
product  goes  to  the  drying  room.  The  contents  of  each  individual 
filter  is  put  on  a  pan  or  tray  which  is  carried  into  the  drying 
room.  There  it  remains  at  a  temperature  of  from  130-180  de- 
gress until  the  moisture  is  entirely  taken  out  of  the  pigments  and 
is  left  in  a  dry,  hardened  form.  The  pigment  is  then  taken 
to  the  grinding  machines,  where  disintegration  takes  place. 
Jt  is  made  into  a  powder  by  being  ground  between  revolving 
stones.  The  packing  department  is  immediately  under  the  mills, 
where  it  is  run  into  barrels  by  a  process  which  is  not  very  dusty. 
In  the  making  of  lake  colors  about  5%  only  of  the  pigment  is 
lead.  Whenever  a  color  with  a  large  per  cent  of  lead  is  ground 


&  .5 
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as 


Xo.  48. —  FACTORY  B  —  PAINTS.     Filling  barrels  with  chrome  yellow. 


No.  49. —  FACTORY  A  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Pot  of  lead  drawn  from  the  "  sweater," 
from  which  the  caster  is  ladling  molten  lead. 


No.  50.—  FACTORY  A  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  pot,  same  as  49.     Pouring  lead  into  moulds. 


Xo.  51.—  FACTORY  A  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Kettles  for  melting  and  refining  lead. 


No.  52.—  FACTORY  A  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  kettles.     Stirring  lead,  and  adding  rosin,  etc. 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  425 

there  is  a  special  room  set  aside  for  this  purpose.  The  pigment 
is  then  ground  within  the  specially  enclosed  room  and  no  employee 
enters  this  room  until  the  dust  has  well  settled. 

(b.)  Manufacture  of  blue  color. —  The  processes  in  the  manu- 
facture of  blue  color  are  practically  the  same  as  those  in  the  lake 
color  department  It  has  so  far,  however,  been  found  to  be  im- 
practical to  use  the  dustless  mill  in  connection  with  the  blues,  on 
account  of  some  differences  in  the  texture  of  the  materials.  The 
manufacturing  departments  in  which  the  blue  colors  are  made 
are  somewhat  darker  than  the  others,  on  account  of  the  walla 
being  colored  with  pigment. 

(c.)  Manufacture  of  yellow  color. —  In  the  yellow,  and  the 
following  green  colors,  we  find  the  highest  percentage  of  lead  that 
is  found  in  any  of  the  colors.  It  varies  from  75-80%.  Special 
precautions  are  taken  against  poisoning  by  lead.  The  elementary 
processes  are  similar  to  those  in  the  other  colors,  with  one  pos- 
sible addition.  At  one  stage  in  the  process,  when  the  color  is  still 
in  solution,  a  worker  sprinkles  the  solution  with  lead  litharge. 
He  does  this  by  scattering  the  lead  from  a  shovel  over  the  mixture. 
(See  photo  No.  48.)  Although  he  wore  a  respirator,  doubtless 
considerable  of  the  very  fine  lead  oxide  was  distributed  through 
the  air. 

In  packing  the  dry  yellow  colors,  particular  precautions  are 
taken.  A  very  large  dust  collector  is  attached  to  the  filling  ma- 
chine, and  when  the  filling  is  going  on  this  bag  is  distended  and 
collects  the  dust,  which  would  otherwise  scatter  itself  through  the 
air.  (See  photo  No.  50.) 

(d.)  Manufacture  of  green  color. —  Like  the  yellow  color,  the 
green  color  has  a  very  large  proportion  of  lead  content,  varying 
in  different  qualities  from  75-80%.  The  processes  in  the  manu- 
facture are  exactly  similar  to  those  already  described. 

II.     Provisions  for  Hygiene: 

Although,  as  already  stated,  this  is  a  comparatively  old  plant, 
it  has  many  very  excellent  precautions.  There  is  notable  care 


426  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

exercised  in  providing  and  requiring  the  men  to  wear  respirators. 
There  are  many  devices  which  prevent  dust,  like  the  dustless  mill, 
the  special  room  for  grinding,  the  special  dust  removal  apparatus 
in  connection  with  the  mills.  A  large  room  has  been  set  aside 
and  equipped  with  chairs  and  tables  as  a  lunch  room.  The  men 
don't  take  care  of  it,  however,  and  if  it  is  allowed  to  become  dirty 
it  will  itself  become  a  source  of  danger. 

III.     Suggestions  for  Improvements: 

,  The  suggestions  for  improvements  which  might  be  made  are 
.numerous.  Of  course  the  entire  plant  should  be  remodeled,  and 
perhaps  a  new  one  put  up.  Aside  from  this,  however,  minor 
improvements  could  be  made  which  would  vastly  improve  con- 
ditions: for  example,  the  provision  of  some  hot  drinks  and  milk 
at  lunch,  adequate  care  of  the  lunch  room,  the  making  of 
washing  obligatory,  the  provision  of  more  adequate  toilet  facili- 
ties and  others  of  a  similar  character. 

III.  SMELTING,  MELTING,  REFINING  AND  CASTING  OF  LEAD. 

A  large  number  of  cases  of  lead  poisoning  were  found  in  com- 
paratively small  factories  where  lead  junk  is  collected,  refined 
and  made  into  type  metal,  solder,  Babbitt  metal  and  other  forms 
of  lead  solder.  The  lead  junk  is  collected  from  all  over  the  city, 
and  the  factories  which  deal  in  it  are  usually  about  as  dirty  and 
ill-kept  as  any  factories  that  have  been  found  to  be  using  lead  in 
any  form.  The  lead,  when  it  is  brought  to  the  lead  factory,  is 
stored  usually  in  the  immediate  proximity  of  the  workers  until 
it  is  ready  to  be  smelted  up.  The  lead  junk  is  then  put  into  a 
/smelter,  where  the  dross  is  separated  from  the  pure  lead,  which  is 
run  off  from  the  side  of  the  smelter.  (See  photo  No.  49.)  The 
Jead  is  run  into  an  open  tank,  usually  at  the  side  of  the  smelter. 
The  worker  then  ladels  it  out  and  runs  it  into  moulds,  where  it  is 
allowed  to  harden,  and  then  is  piled  up  near-by.  (See  photo  No. 
50.) 

In  the  making  of  solder  usually  the  lead  is  melted  up  in  pots 
or  kettles  about  three  (3)  feet  in  diameter.  (For  example,  see 
photos  N"os.  51  and  53.)  These  kettles,  or  lead  pots,  as  they  are 


No.  53. —  FACTORY  B  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  pot,  showing  exhaust  and  chimney. 


No.  54. —  FACTORY  C  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  pots.     Flashlight  picture. 


No.  55. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  pots.     Ladling  molten  lead  into 
moulds  for  solder,  etc. 


No.  56. —  FACTORY  D  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Victim  of  lead  poisoning  —  with  wrist 
drop,  now  employed  in  sorting  scrap  metal. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  4;.' 7 

called,  are  sometimes  hooded  over  and  connected  with  chimneys 
which  are  supposed  to  draw  off  the  fumes,  but  often  they  are  not 
.hooded  at  all.  In  none  of  the  factories  inspected  were  exhaust 
.fans  found  to  be  attached  to  the  hoods.  The  value  of  the  hood  is, 
.therefore,  probably  small.  The  worker  ladels  the  molten  lead 
from  the  lead  pots  and  runs  it  into  molds  for  solder.  These  molds 
,are  shaped  so  that  the  lead,  when  cold,  is  in  long,  narrow  strips. 
.The  solder  usually  made  by  these  factories  contains  from  40  to  60 
per  cent  of  lead,  the  remainder  being  tin. 

Other  lead  alloys,  such  as  type  metal  and  Babbitt  metal,  are 
niade  in  practically  the  same  way.  Type  metal  and  Babbitt  metal 
.have  a  proportion  of  lead  varying  from  25  to  70  per  cent,  accord- 
ing to  the  quality  of  the  metal  and  the  work  which  it  is  expected 
.to  perform.  Of  all  of  the  factories  inspected,  only  one  can  be 
said  to  have  even  fair  conditions.  In  the  others  the  sanitary  con- 
.veniences  were  of  the  most  primitive  sort  and  sometimes  disgust- 
ingly dirty.  The  rooms  in  which  the  work  is  done  are  usually 
.filled  with  dust  and  dirt  of  every  description.  In  one  factory 
(see  photo  Xo.  54)  the  air  was  so  thick  with  smoke  and  dust  at 
.the  time  tin-  investigator  visited  the  plant,  about  4  p.  m.,  that 
.the  gas  had  to  be  lighted,  and  in  order  to  take  flashlight  pictures 
a  fl;i>li  of  about  twice  the  ordinary  strength  had  to  be  used. 

The  danger  of  rhis  work  comes  probably  from  three  sources: 
.First,  there  is  a  possibility  of  the  lead  poisoning  being  occasioned 
J)\  the  lead  fumes  generated  from  the  molten  lead.  This  the 
writer  believes  to  be  negligible.  Second,  possibility  of  the 
contraction  of  lead  poisoning  from  the  hands,  which  are  usually 
covered  with  dirt  from  the  lead  which  the  worker  is  constantly 
handling.  This  is  no  doubt  an  important  source  of  lead  poison- 
ing. Third,  and  perhaps  the  most  important,  is  the  possibility  of 
lead  poisoning  through  the  inhalation  of  lead  oxide.  A  scum 
/if  lead  oxide  is  constantly  forming  on  the  surface  of  the  molten 
Jead.  The  worker  is  continually  drawing  aside  this  scum  of  lead 
/ixi.le,  and  very  often  takes  it  from  the  top  of  the  kettle  and 
throws  it  on  the  floor.  This  scum  is  usually  covered  over  by  a 
very  fine  powdery  substance,  which  is  pure  oxide  of  lead.  No 
doubt  a  considerable  amount  of  this  oxide  is  floating  about  in  the 


428  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

.air  iii  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  worker  and  that  he  must  inhale 
large  quantities  of  it. 

,  In  none  of  the  factories  in  which  lead  junk  was  melted  up  and 
in  which  lead  alloys,  solder,  etc.,  were  made,  were  instructions 
pf  any  kind  ever  given  the  men,  or  were  instructions  posted  on 
walls  of  the  factories.  Eating  was  universally  permitted  in  the 
work-rooms.  The  superintendents  usually  permit  beer  to  be 
brought  in  at  almost  any  time  during  the  day.  Smoking  was  quite 
universal  among  the  men.  Instances  of  this  sort  are  shown  in 
photographs  Nos.  50  and  56.  In  none  of  the  factories  were  towels 
or  soap  furnished  the  men,  and  the  only  hot  water,  and  in  some 
cases  the  only  water,  furnished  for  washing  purposes  was  that  in 
the  troughs  in  which  the  molds  are  placed  in  order  to  cool  the  lead. 
Jn  some  of  the  factories  there  were  exhaust  fans  for  changing  the 
air  in  the  room.  Such  a  system  of  ventilation,  however,  is  almost 
hopeless  in  meeting  the  demands  of  the  situation.  In  none  of 
.these  factories  was  a  doctor  employed  or  doctors'  services  at  the 
.disposal  of  the  workers.  With  the  exception  of  the  manufacture 
pf  white  and  red  lead  these  factories  are,  perhaps,  the  most  dan- 
gerous in  which  lead  in  any  form  is  used. 

IV.  USE  OF  LEAD  AS  A  HARDENING  AND  TEMPERING  AGENT. 

FACTOKY    A. 

Manufacture  of  Magnetos. —  The  department  in  which  the 
lead  is  used  is  at  the  back  of  the  building  in  a  sort  of 
shed  "  lean-to."  It  is  slightly  below  the  level  of  the  ground, 
About  60  by  10  feet,  about  12  feet  ceiling.  Ventilation  is  pro- 
vided for  by  a  fan  near  the  ceiling  at  one  end,  and  an  opening 
At  the  other.  There  are  four  windows,  about  three  feet  by  five, 
along  one  side.  In  this  room  there  are  five  lead  pots,  the  tempera- 
ture of  which  varies  from  1,400-1,800  degrees.  Above  these  pots 
Are  hoods  connecting  with  a  16-inch  pipe,  which  is  supposed  to 
lead  off  all  fumes  from  the  pots.  This  room  was  hot  and  dirty; 
the  floor  was  littered  with  junk  and  dirt  of  various  kinds. 

The  process  is  hardening  the  steel  magnets  after  they  have  been 
bent  in  an  adjoining  room.  The  magnets,  which  are  horse-shoe 
in  shape,  are  plunged  into  a  bath  of  molten  lead  in  one  of  the 


No.  57. —  FACTORY  E  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Brothers  who  have  had  lead  poisoning 
melting  and  refining  lead  junk. 


No.  58. —  FACTORY  E  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Same  as  57,  showing  different  position. 


No.  59.— FACTORY  E  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Lead  pot,  with  hood,  but  no  exhausts; 
running  molten  lead  into  moulds. 


No.  GO. —  FACTORY  E  —  LEAD  REFINING.     Drawing  solder  wire. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  429 

pots.  Here  they  remain  until  red  hot.  They  are  then  removed 
by  one  of  the  workers  and  handed  to  another  (see  photo  No.  61), 
,who  plunges  them  into  a  barrel  of  water  near-by.  They  are  then 
pooled  and  stacked  about  an  upright  bar  and  rubbed  with  sand- 
paper, in  order  to  remove  adhering  bits  of  lead.  There  is  a  pos- 
sibility here,  therefore,  of  the  inhalation  of  lead  fumes,  which, 
.however,  the  writer  believes  to  be  slight;  the  possibility  of  small 
particles  of  lead  congealing  on  the  steel  magnets  as  they  are  taken 
from  the  lead  bath,  and  of  these  flying  oft'  into  the  air  is  great. 
.This  is  also  true  of  the  rubbing  process.  A  more  probable  method 
pf  infection  is  by  means  of  the  lead  oxide,  which  is  constantly 
forming  on  the  surface  of  the  molten  lead.  This  oxide,  which  is 
An  the  shape  of  a  powder,  is  easily  disseminated  through  the  air 
.and  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous  forms  of  lead.  There  is  no 
.washroom  on  this  floor.  The  foreman,  when  asked  where  the  men 
washed,  replied:  "At  home,  I  guess."  The  toilets  consist  of 
,two  dirty,  unenclosed  seats,  totally  insufficient.  The  firm  gives 
no  advice  on  the  danger  of  the  occupation,  and  the  foreman,  ad- 
mitting men  occasionally  got  sick,  claimed  that  he  didn't  know 
.whether  it  was  lead  poisoning  or  not,  and  "  anyway  it  was  only  the 
hard  drinkers  that  got  it."  (See  cases  Nos.  20,  21,  22,  23.)  No 
physician  or  medical  advice  is  provided,  and  no  precautions  of 
.any  kind  are  taken.  The  paymaster  stated,  on  being  questioned, 
.that  he  could  give  me  the  addresses  of  men  who  had  left  on 
Account  of  illness,  if  the  foreman  remembered  their  names.  The 
foreman  mentioned  the  names  I) —  and  W — .  (See  cases  Nos.  21 
and  22.)  Nothing  was  said  of  B —  (case  No.  20),  whom  the  in- 
spector had  already  visited.  The  two  names  were  taken  to  the 
paymaster,  who  gave  the  addresses,  which  in  case  of  D —  prove 
correct,  and  in  case  of  W —  proved  to  be  wrong.  No  mention  was 
made  of  any  other  cases,  although  the  inspector  specifically  asked 
for  all  cases.  The  paymaster  asked,  in  some  surprise,  "  Why ! 
Is  lead  dangerous  ?  "  The  superintendent  admitted  that  nothing- 
was  done  for  these  cases  of  sickness,  although  in  case  of  accident 
a  small  sum  of  money  is  occasionally  given. 

,  Subsequent  to  this  visit  the  investigators  have  proved  and  in- 
terviewed five  cases  of  men  who  have  worked  in  this  plant  who  have 
had  lead  poisoning.  One  man  had  died  of  lead  poisoning  and  a 


430  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

/complication  of  other  causes.  In  addition  the  investigators  have 
Jbeen  given  reliable  information  (which  they  have  not  had  time 
Jo  verify)  of  four  other  cases.  This  process  has  been  in  opera- 
tion here  just  one  year.  About  nine  men  are  required  to  do  the 
.work.  Here,  therefore,  is  a  department,  employing  a  regular 
force  of  nine  men  and  where  there  have  been  nine  cases  of  lead 
.poisoning  in  one  year. 

FACTORY  B. 
Lead  Used  for  Tempering  Wire: 

In  one  large  establishment  where  piano  wire  and  springs  are 
made  lead  is  used  in  several  departments  as  a  tempering  or  har- 
dening agent. 

,  Most  of  the  men  coming  in  contact  with  the  lead  are  employed 
An  the  tempering  department.  Here  the  wires  are  drawn  through 
A  furnace,  where  they  are  heated  to  a  very  high  temperature,  and 
then  after  passing  out  of  the  furnace,  are  passed  through  a  bath 
of  molted  lead.  This  bath  of  lead  is  exposed  to  the  air  and  is  about 
three  feet  long  and  one  foot  wide.  The  wires  are  wound  off  of 
one  set  of  reels  and  passed  through  the  lead  to  another  set.  The 
lead  oxide,  which  is  constantly  forming  on  the  surface  of  the  lead,  is 
^craped  away  occasionally  and  allowed  to  pile  up  on  the  machinery 
pr  fall  to  the  ground.  One  man  only  tends  each  machine,  and  it 
is  not  necessary  for  him  to  remain  near  the  lead  for  any  great 
.length  of  time.  Some  of  the  machines  in  this  room  have  hoods 
and  exhaust  chimneys,  and  some  have  not.  Where  these  hoods 
have  not  been  provided  the  engineer  claimed  that  the  wires  which 
passed  just  above  prevented  the  construction  of  hoods.  It  ap- 
peared to  the  inspector,  however,  that  a  very  efficient  hood  could 
easily  be  constructed  to  fit  this  particular  place.  The  room  was 
.ventilated  by  means  of  open  windows  at  either  side  and  by  means 
of  several  overhead  skylights.  In  spite  of  the  large  number  of 
windows  and  skylights,  the  room  was  hazy  and  filled  with  smoke 
and  fumes. 

The  superintendent  stated  that  lead  poisoning  was  on  the  de- 
crease here  since  the  installation  of  the  hoods  and  skylights.     In 


No.  61. —  FACTORY  A  —  LEAD  AS  HARDENING  AGENT. 
passing  red  hot  steel  from  lead  pot  to  water  barrel. 


The  hardening  room 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  431 

spite  of  this  fact,  one  ease,  evidently  unknown  to  the  superin- 
tendent, has  come  to  our  attention,  and  he  admitted  that  he  had 
.known  of  12  cases  in  the  last  five  years.  There  are  60  men 
employed  in  this  department,  in  two  shifts.  The  day  shift  works 
ten  hours  for  six  days  a  week  and  the  night  shift  12  hours  for 
.five  days  a  week.  Xeither  shift  is  given  a  specific  time  for  meals 
and  they  eat  as  they  work. 

In  another  department  lead  is  also  used.  This  is  called  the 
patenting  furnace.  There  the  wire  is  run  very  slowly  through  a 
high  temperature  furnace,  and  then  through  a  bath  of  molten 
Jead.  In  this  case  the  lead  is  covered  by  charcoal  to  a  depth  of 
#bout  four  to  six  inches.  After  passing  through  the  lead  the  wire 
passes  through  water  and  through  pads,  which  effectually  cool 
and  cleanse  it  of  any  fine  lead  particles.  The  foreman  stated  that 
while  they  once  had  lead  poisoning  among  the  workers  in  this 
department,  it  had  almost  entirely  disappeared  since  the  introduc- 
tion of  the  cleaning  process.  Eighteen  men  are  employed  here  in 
two  shifts,  with  hours  the  same  as  those  in  the  tempering 
department. 

Another  department  in  which  there  may  be  some  danger,  but  in 
whi  oli  there  is  very  little,  if  any,  lead  used,  is  that  containing  the 
so-called  galvanizing  furnaces.  Here  the  wire  is  passed  through  an 
acid  bath,  which  prepares  it  for  a  coating  of  spelter.  This  spelter 
is  confined  in  a  long,  narrow  basin,  exposed  to  the  air.  The  wire 
passes  through  it  and  comes  out  coated  with  spelter,  or  zinc  (prin- 
cipally). It  is  cleansed  of  any  surplus  coating  and  reeled  onto 
reels.  Over  most  of  these  basins  of  molten  zinc  there  were  hoods, 
although  some  of  these  hoods  were  very  high  above  the  molten 
metal. 

There  is  no  hot  water  in  the  wash  rooms  throughout  the  plant 
and,  while  the  toilets  are  adequate,  they  are  not  well  kept.  There 
are  no  adequate  washing  facilities  and  no  lockers  in  which  the 
men  can  keep  their  clothing.  The  hoods  which  are  put  over  the 
various  lead  pots,  are  not  provided  with  exhaust  fans  and  are 
therefore,  almost  useless.  The  generalized  method  of  ventilation 
merely  adds  to  the  danger. 


432  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

V.  USE  OF  LEAD  SOLDERS. 

The  only  use  of  lead  solders  that  has  been  investigated  is  in 
connection  with  the  manufacture  of  tin  cans.  The  use  of  solder 
is  being  displaced  in  large  part  by  the  pressing  of  the  cans  and 
the  accurate  fitting  of  one  part  of  the  can  into  another  and  the 
pressing  of  the  parts  together.  The  use  of  solder,  however,  is 
still  considerable  and  demands  attention.  Although  no  cases  of 
lead  poisoning  were  traced  to  the  can  factories,  the  fact  that  lead 
is  used,  and  in  a  comparatively  dangerous  form,  makes  this  indus- 
try a  possible  source  of  infection. 

The  most  prevalent  method  of  soldering  tin  cans  is  by  the  use 
of  a  hot  iron,  heated  in  a  gas  furnace,  and  thus,  by  means  of  it, 
spreading  the  solder  from  a  small  bar  along  the  edge  that  is  re- 
quired to  be  soldered.  The  molten  lead  is  free,  therefore,  only  for 
a  moment,  and  hardens  along  the  edge  of  the  tin  almost  imme- 
diately. The  worker  handles  the  bar  of  lead  continuously  and 
usually  his  fingers  are  blackened  by  the  constant  contact.  How- 
ever, there  is  comparatively  little  danger  in  this  form  of  soldering. 

There  is  another  method  of  soldering,  which,  however,  seems  to 
need  attention.  In  one  factory  the  inspector  found  a  boy  stand- 
ing continuously  over  a  shallow  pool  of  molten  lead.  The  boy's 
job  was  to  dip  the  can,  a  rather  large  one,  in  the  solderene  (an  acid 
for  preparing  the  surface  of  the  tin  for  its  solder),  and  then  dip- 
ping the  edge  of  the  can  into  this  bath  of  molten  solder ;  he  then 
passes  it  on  to  another  worker,  who  puts  on  the  bottom  of  the  can. 
The  boy  is  constantly  removing  from  the  surface  of  the  lead  bath 
the  collecting  skum  of  lead  oxide,  which  piles  up  on  the  bench 
before  him  and  fall  off  onto  the  floor,  to  be  scattered  and  breathed. 
The  lad  could  speak  no  English,  and  therefore  the  inspector  could 
not  get  the  desired  information  as  to  whether  or  not  he  had  been 
affected.  Such  an  open  lead  bath,  small  and  shallow  as  it  is,  is, 
however,  a  source  of  constant  danger.  In  this  same  factory  pro- 
visions were  made  for  several  other  similar  pots,  which  were  not 
going  on  account  of  a  dull  season. 


I 

Is 

H    03 

P  a 


C 

•c 
S, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  433 

VI.     MISCELLANEOUS   INDUSTRIES. 

1.  Manufacture  of  Coaches,  Carriages  and  Automobile  Bodies: 

Only  a  beginning  has  been  made  in  the  study  of  this  industry 
which  will  doubtless  reveal  evidences  of  lead  poisoning  when 
more  thoroughly  examined.  Lead  is  used  in  the  paints,  several 
coats  of  which  are  usually  applied  in  the  high  grade  v/ork,  re- 
quired for  coaches  and  automobiles.  These  coats  are  successively 
rubbed  down,  in  order  to  give  a  perfectly  even  flat  surface  which 
is  capable  of  taking  a  very  high  polish. 

In  one  of  the  factories  inspected,  where  a  very  high  grade 
of  work  is  done,  the  first  coats  are  put  on  with  a  material  called 
"  rough  stuff,"  which  is  composed  of  60  parts  lead  to  80  parts 
of  rotten  stone.  Several  coats  of  this  mixture  are  applied,  and 
then  rubbed  down  with  pumice  stone.  This  is  a  wet  process 
and  no  dust  whatever  is  raised.  The  manager  claimed  that  sand- 
paper would  not  give  by  any  means  as  high  a  polish  or  as  fine 
a  finish,  and  that  it  was  used  only  on  second  grade  work. 

In  one  part  of  this  work  the  sand  papering  process  was  used, 
namely,  on  the  spokes  of  the  wheels,  as  shown  in  photograph 
number  63.  This  is  not  a  continuous  process,  however,  as  there 
is  not  enough  of  the  work  to  keep  a  man  at  it  all  the  time. 
In  fact  the  man  in  this  picture  was  posed  specially  for  the  picture. 

In  other  carriage  factories,  especially  where  repair  work  is 
done,  the  old  paint  is  very  often  removed  by  a  sandpaper  process, 
in  the  course  of  which  considerable  dust  is  raised,  which  is,  of 
course,  fatally  harmful  to  the  workers. 

A  very  much  more  detailed  study  is  necessary  before  more 
definite  conclusion*  can  be  reached  concerning  this  industry. 

2.  Manufacture  of  Lead  Pipe,  Lead  Tubing  and  Solder  Wire: 

The  processes  used  in  making  lead  pipe,  varying  in  size  from 
a  fraction  of  an  inch  to  a  foot,  lead  tubing  and  solder  wire, 
are  all  similar.  The  work  is  done  almost  entirely  by  machinery 
and  the  workers  only  handle  the  metallic  lead. 
,  The  molten  lead  is  run  into  a  receptacle  at  the  bottom  of  a 
hydraulic  press.  An  aperture  and  mould  is  left  at  the  top,  which 


434  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

gives  the  size  of  the  tube  which  is  to  be  made.  The  press  is  then  set 
in  operation  and  the  lead  is  pressed  upward  through  the  aperture 
forming  the  tube  the  desired  size.  In  the  case  of  very  large 
tubing,  it  is  sawed  off  in  ten-foot  lengths.  (See  photo  Xo.  21.) 
In  the  case  of  smaller  tubes,  it  is  carried  high  up  over  a  bar  and 
then  brought  down  and  coiled  around  a  large  drum.  (See  photo 
No.  22.) 

No  cases  of  lead  poisoning  were  found  in  this  work,  although 
the  probability  is  that  a  more  searching  investigation  would  re- 
veal them. 

!.   Manufacture  of  Sheet  Lead: 

One  factory  where  sheet  lead  is  manufactured  was  inspected. 
The  process  is  a  comparatively  simple  one,  and  not  necessarily 
dangerous.  The  lead  is  first  run  into  considerable  sheets,  sev- 
eral inches  in  thickness.  These  sheets  are  run  between  two  re- 
volving rollers,  until  the  desired  thickness  is  attained.  The  sheets 
are  then  cut  to  size  by  hand,  and  the  remnants  chopped  to  pieces 
with  an  axe  and  returned  to  the  melting  pot.  No  cases  of  poison- 
ing were  found  in  this  work. 

4.  Manufacture  of  Lead-Foil  and  Tin-Foil: 

Two  large  factories  making  tin-foil  and  lead-foil  employing 
300  and  200  people,  about  half  of  whom  were  women,  and  many 
of  whom  were  children,  were  inspected.  Lead  is  the  largest  ele- 
ment in  the  manufacture  of  ordinary  tin-foil  and  lead-foil.  In 
some  foils  pure  tin  is  used,  but  this  is  very  rare,  usually  there 
are  large  proportions  of  lead,  varying  from  5-80%. 
.  The  pig  lead  is  melted  up  and  cast  into  slabs  about  21/2  feet 
square  and  one  inch  in  thickness.  In  one  of  the  factories  where 
the  casting  is  done,  there  are  four  lead  pots.  None  of  these  lead 
pots  are  protected  by  hoods.  The  room  in  which  the  process  is 
carried  on  is  in  the  basement  of  the  factory  and  in  spite  of  a 
large  suction  fan  of  probably  42  inches  in  diameter,  the  room 
is  badly  ventilated  and  very  hot.  Most  of  the  men  working  here 
fceemed  to  be  healthy  enough  and  denied  having  ever  experienced 
any  attacks  of  lead  poisoning.  The  superintendent,  however,  was 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  435 

with  the  inspector  all  the  time.  In  the  second  plant  the  casting 
room,  although  located  somewhat  below  ground,  and  containing 
unhooded  lead  pots,  was  very  light  and  the  air  seemed  fresh 
and  wholesome.  The  room  was  much  cleaner  than  the  other  and 
was  provided  with  two  exhaust  fans.  The  men  here  also  dis- 
claimed any  knowledge  of  lead  poisoning,  and  also  disclaimed 
any  of  the  symptoms. 

From  this  point  in  the  process,  the  lead  is  always  in  metallic 
form.  The  slabs  of  lead  after  having  been  cast  are  sent  to  the 
rolling  machines  where  they  are  rolled  between  the  large  rollers 
set  one  above  the  other  until  they  have  been  reduced  to  very  thin 
long  sheets.  The  whole  process  of  making  the  tin-foil  becomes 
from  this  time  forward  a  process  of  rollings,  each  successive  oper- 
ation reducing  the  thickness  of  the  material. 

In  the  making  of  bottle  tops,  a  heavy  thickness  of  very  plia- 
ble lead-foil  is  used.  The  lead  is  drawn  into  the  desired  shapes 
for  bottle  caps  by  automatic  machines  which  are  tended  by  young^ 
girls.  The  girls,  however,  merely  handle  the  sheets  of  foil  as  it 
pomes  before  them,  and  we  are  told,  occasionlly  get  their  fingers 
under  the  machinery  and  cut  off. 

,  The  tin-foil  is  colored  by  machine,  and  some  of  it  is  painted 
by  hand.  The  colors  used  are  aniline  colors,  and  are  less  harm- 
ful than  lead  colors,  although  the  aniline  has  an  intoxicating 
effect.  Much  of  this  work  is  done  by  young  girls. 

In  one  of  the  factories  toilet  and  washing  facilities  are  pro- 
vided on  every  floor  of  the  building.  Ventilation  throughout 
the  building  is  merely  the  ordinary  window  sort.  No  lunch 
room  is  provided  for  the  employees,  and  they  are  permitted  to 
eat  wherever  they  wish.  Instructions  as  to  the  dangers  of  the 
work  are  neither  given  personally  nor  posted.  A  doctor  is  em- 
ployed by  the  firm  who  comes  to  the  plant  every  other  day. 
His  work  is  largely  traumatic  and  he  has  nothing  to  do  with 
sickness.  Lockers  are  provided  for  both  men  and  women.  No 
towels,  soap  or  overalls  are  provided.  No  cases  of  lead  poisoning 
were  known  to  the  superintendent. 

The  second  factory  has  excellent  toilet  and  washing  facilities 
on  every  floor.  Towels  and  soap  are  provided,  but  not  overalls. 
Special  attention  is  given  to  cleanliness  throughout  the  plant. 


436  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

The  firm  has  hired  a  woman  whose  job  is  to  cook  hot  things, 
which  the  girls  themselves  provide.  This  enables  them  to  have 
a  warm  lunch.  A  woman  also  is  hired  who  has  charge  of  the 
girls'  toilets.  In  this  plant  also  the  superintendent  denied  any 
knowledge  of  any  cases  of  lead  poisoning. 

A  certain  chemical  compound,  the  formula  for  which  is  a 
/secret,  is  added  to  the  lead  and  tin  mixture  in  the  molten  slabs 
.which  tends  to  give  the  tin-foil  its  brilliant  appearance.  To  this 
chemical  may  be  due  the  absence  of  poisoning,  for  it  doubtless 
prevents  in  a  large  measure  the  oxidation  of  the  lead  which 
.would  otherwise  occur. 

5.  Manufacture  of  Linoleum  and  Oilcloth' 

.  At  two  points  in  the  manufacture  of  linoleum  is  lead  used, 
first,  in  the  first  process  where  the  linseed  oil  is  boiled,  red  lead 
is  used  as  a  drying  agent.  The  inspector  did  not  see  the  worker 
who  regularly  did  the  work,  but  the  superintendent  illustrated. 
The  lead  oxide  dust  was  scooped  out  of  a  barrel  and  sprinkled 
over  the  mixture  as  it  boiled.  Doubtless  much  of  this  lead  got 
out  into  the  atmosphere. 

The  second  point  at  which  lead  was  used  is  in  the  making  of 
various  colored  linoleums.  The  coloring  matter  is  largely  made 
of  lead  colors,  and  is  ground  up  with  the  linseed  oil  mixture,  and 
comes  out  and  is  rolled  into  sheets,  from  which  various  portions 
are  cut  and  are  fitted  together,  or  inlaid,  to  make  the  designs 
which  are  usually  seen  in  linoleums.  A  large  number  of  girls 
and  young  women  work  with  these  materials  but  there  is  almost 
no  dust. 

The  superintendent  denied  ever  having  had  knowledge  of  lead 
poisoning  in  the  factory.  However,  this  factory  is  almost  the 
sole  support  of  the  little  and  very  isolated  village  in  which  it 
is  located.  No  fewer  than  six  cases  of  lead  poisoning  from  this 
little  town  were  known  at  a  local  hospital  —  men  who,  it  is  almost 
certain,  worked  in  this  factory.  Unfortunately  no  defi- 
nite information  could  be  obtained  concerning  them,  as  they 
were  foreigners  who  moved  rapidly,  and  only  one  or  two  were 
known  at  the  post-oifice,  and  they  had  not  been  resident  in  the 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  437 

town  for  many  months.  Where  the  cause  of  lead  poisoning  is 
in  this  factory,  it  is  difficult  to  say.  The  most  likely  place  seems 
,to  be  the  sprinkling  of  the  red  oxide  of  lead  into  the  boiling  lin- 
seed oil.  However,  so  little  of  this  is  probably  done  that  there 
must  be  some  other  source  of  the  poisoning  which  has  not  been 
.discovered. 

.6.  Manufacture  of  Cut  Glass: 

,  The  largest  factory  in  the  State  manufacturing  cut  glass  was 
.inspected  with  special  reference  to  lead.  At  one  time  lead  was 
Jargely  used  in  the  cut  glass  industry,  but  it  has  since  very  largely 
.disappeared,  and  while  lead  poisoning  was  then  very  prevalent 
among  glass  cutters,  it  is  to-day  a  great  rarity. 

After  the  design  has  been  cut  into  the  glass,  a  considerable 
amount  of  sand  remains  adhering  to  the  cuts.  The  glass  is 
,then  turned  over  to  another  set  of  workers  who  are  usually  ap- 
prentices, whose  work  consists  of  cleaning  out  thoroughly  the 
cuts  originally  made.  This  is  done  by  holding  the'  glass  against 
.disks  of  pumice  stone.  Under  the  old  process  of  manufacture 
,the  glass  then  went  to  a  worker  seated  in  front  of  a  revolving 
.brush.  On  this  brush  was  placed  powdered  lead  and  zinc,  the 
purpose  of  which  was  to  clean  thoroughly  the  cuts  made  in  the 
glass.  During  the  performance  of  this  process  the  worker  be- 
comes covered  with  the  lead  powder.  The  glass  was  then  further 
cleaned  and  polished  by  being  rubbed  with  a  putty  which  was 
composed  of  a  large  proportion  of  lead.  These  processes  were 
used  up  to  about  eight  years  ago  when  they  were  superseded 
Jby  a  very  much  cheaper  one.  It  was  discovered  at  that  time  that 
this  work  of  cleaning  and  polishing  could  be  better  accomplished 
by  dipping  the  pieces  of  cut  glass  in  solutions  of  hydrochloric 
and  sulphuric  acid.  Work  which  had  previously  taken  a  work- 
man half  a  day  could  then  be  done  in  a  few  moments.  This 
new  process,  replacing  as  it  has  in  almost  every  shop  the  older 
methods,  has  almost  eliminated  lead  poisoning  from  the  glass 
industry. 

In  the  large  factory  employing  almost  400  people,  which  was 
inspected,  the  amount  of  lead  formerly  used  was  about  150 


438  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

pounds  monthly;  to-day  they  do  not  use  150  pounds  of  lead  in 
.three  years.  Only  one  man  in  the  entire  number  now  uses  lead 
at  all  and  he  is  not  continuously  employed,  his  work  being  of  a 
repair  nature. 

B.     NON-MANUFACTURING  INDUSTRIES. 

1.  Painting  and  Interior  Decorating: 

,  Almost  half  of  the  special  cases  of  lead  poisoning  collected, 
and  more  than  were  found  in  any  other  industry,  were  those  of 
painters.  The  number  of  cases  of  painters,  as  shown  by  the  hos- 
pital records,  which  usually  record  the  painter's  trade  as  such, 
is  very  large  indeed;  a  small  number  of  painters'  unions,  which 
,have  been  visited  for  information,  report  an  astonishingly  high 
rate  of  lead  poisoning. 

The  painter's  trade  is  very  thoroughly  organized.  The  painters 
themselves  have  a  very  strong  organization,  which  includes  the 
great  majority  of  men  in  the  city  who  follow  that  trade.  At 
best,  the  average  painter,  and  the  very  good  painter,  too,  has 
to  look  forward  to  two  or  three  months'  idleness  during  every 
year.  The  work  of  the  painter,  like  that  of  the  bricklayer  and 
.stone  mason,  is  very  casual  in  character.  This  is  due  both  to 
,the  character  of  the  work  done,  the  hundred  and  one  small  jobs, 
and  also  to  the  organization  of  the  industry  where  a  single  work- 
man very  seldom  finds  himself  steadily  attached  to  one  con- 
tractor or  boss  painter. 

The  kinds  of  work  that  a  painter  is  called  upon  to  do  may 
,be  divided  roughly  into  two  classes,  (a)  exterior  and  (b)  in- 
ferior work.  The  interior  work  again  may  be  repair  or  reno- 
vating work,  the  reworking  of  old  surfaces,  and  new  work.  The 
exterior  work,  done  as  it  is  in  the  open  air,  presents  in  itself 
very  little  danger.  The  interior  work  is  dangerous.  On  old 
work  the  painter  must  sandpaper  or  burn  off  the  old  paint. 
In  the  first  case,  he  is  liable  to  inhale  the  dust,  which  is  the  dust 
.of  lead  paint,  and  therefore  carries  a  high  percentage  of  lead, 
and  in  the  second  case,  in  burning  off  the  old  paint  considerable 
quantities  of  lead  fumes  and  dust  due  to  scraping  are  developed. 
These  processes  are  therefore,  perhaps,  the  most  dangerous  lead 
processes.  On  new  work  the  danger  is  two-fold;  the  first  is  due 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  439 

to  the  inhalation  of  lead  fumes  from  the  wet  paint.  This  is  not 
especially  dangerous  except  in  a  very  close  and  very  poorly  ven- 
tilated room.  The  second  and  greatest  danger  is  that  on  a  high 
grade  of  work,  two  or  more  coats  of  paint  are  usually  put  on 
and  successively  sandpapered,  in  order  to  give  a  smooth  finish. 
These  sandpapering  processes  are  extremely  dangerous.  Many 
of  the  painters  who  were  interviewed  for  this  study  had  worked 
at  this  grade  of  work  immediately  preceding  their  most  serious 
attacks  of  lead  poisoning. 

.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  lead  poisoning  is  most  prevalent  among 
the  highest  grade  of  \vorkmen  and  that  the  cheap  or  low  grade 
painter  almost  wholly  escapes.  This  is  due,  in  the  first  place, 
to  the  fact  that  he  uses  a  cheap  paint  which  contains  little  lead, 
and  in  the  second,  that  he  simply  slaps  it  on  and  does  not  at- 
tempt to  put  on  a  high-grade  finish.  The  best  interior  decora- 
tors, who  do  the  highest  grade  of  work,  are  usually  most  liable 
.to  lead  poisoning.  Many  of  our  cases  were  traced  to  the  great 
hotels,  club  houses  and  Fifth  avenue  homes. 

The  new  building,  in  course  of  construction,  presents  some 
serious  problems.  Many  new  buildings,  almost  all  new  build- 
ings in  a  great  city  like  Xew  York,  have  scores  of  workmen  in 
them,  many  more,  perhaps,  than  the  average  factory.  And  so  far 
as  labor  conditions  are  concerned,  they  are  entirely  outside  the 
pale  of  the  law.  Except  for  certain  regulations  concerning  scaf- 
folding and  temporary  flooring,  etc.,1  there  are  no  laws  govern- 
ing the  working  conditions  in  buildings  in  course  of  construction. 
Then-  arc  probably  not  less  than  75,000  men  in  New  York  city 
working  under  conditions  which  are  entirely  unsupervised  by 
the  State  and  which  are  usually  neglected  and  un thought  of  by 
employers. 

The  conditions  in  a  building  in  course  of  construction  are  dif- 
ficult to  manage.  The  very  fact  that  it  is  in  course  of  construc- 
tion means  that  conditions  are  temporary;  that  it  is  a  mere 
shell  without  conveniences  of  any  sort.  Sanitary  conveniences 
are  almost  impossible;  it  is  difficult  to  supply  water  to  the  dif- 
ferent floors;  there  is  also  the  newness  of  materials,  and  the 
dampness  and  moisture  of  a  building  half  open  and  half  closed. 


1  Labor  Law,  sections  18,   19.  20  and  21. 


440  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Worst  of  all,  everything  and  everybody  is  temporary.  One  group 
,of  workmen  after  another  succeed  each  other,  each  with  its  own 
.equipment,  which  is  carried  away  when  it  leaves.  The  very  or- 
ganization of  the  building  industry  is  a  handicap  —  the  builder 
and  owner  usually  sublets  all  the  different  parts  of  the  work, 
pften  to  contractors  who  gather  a  special  force  of  men  for  this 
particular  job  and  who  have  nothing  permanent  in  their  busi- 
ness arrangements.  Here,  therefore,  is  an  industry  which  is 
ponstantly  making  its  conditions,  which  are  continually  changing, 
and  to  which  a  constantly  shifting  group  of  men  are  subjected. 

The  chief  difficulties  are  these:  the  painters  are  constantly 
working  with  a  dangerous  poison;  they  are  ignorant  of  the  dan- 
ger of  the  poison  with  which  they  are  working;  they  are  care- 
Jess  in  observing  the  precautions  which  would  lessen  the  dangers 
from  lead  poisoning;  most  of  the  precautionary  measures  are 
denied  the  painter  because  he  hasn't  warm  water  in  which  to 
wash,  he  is  not  provided  with  washing  facilities,  nor  is  there 
time,  especially  during  the  winter  months  when  he  gets  only 
a  half  hour  for  lunch,  to  use  what  facilities  there  are. 
,  No  doubt  a  large  part  of  the  danger  could  be  avoided.  If 
£inc  paint  instead  of  lead  were  used,  the  danger  would  be  al- 
most eliminated.  In  France,  this  will  be  decreed  by  law  after 
4-914.  The  writer  has  been  told  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  the 
2inc  paint  is  no  more  expensive  than  white  lead,  that  is,  when 
considered  from  all  points  of  view.  The  sandpaper  process 
could  be  replaced  with  a  wet  process  using  sandpaper  and  either 
oil  or  water.  This  process  is  slightly  more  costly  than  the  dry 
process.  Rooms  could  easily  be  fitted  up  in  almost  every  large 
Jbuilding  where  the  painters  could  keep  a  change  of  clothing  and 
Jiave  a  clean  place  in  which  to  eat  their  lunches.  Washing  facil- 
ities could  at  least  be  provided  on  the  ground  floor.  The  lunch 
period  is  in  nearly  all  cases  half  an  hour.  In  half  an  hour  it  is 
impossible  for  a  man,  with  the  usual  primitive  methods  at  his 
disposal,  to  go  down  several  flights  of  stairs,  wash  thoroughly,  eat 
a  lunch  and  return  to  his  place  of  work.  At  least  an  hour  should 
be  provided  for  lunch. 

The  painting  trade  should  be  carefully  and  fully  studied  as 
a  basis  for  detailed  recommendations. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CASES  OF  LEAD  POISONING. 

.  The  real  gravity  of  lead  poisoning  —  its  effect  upon  the  work- 
ers, upon  their  families,  upon  the  community  —  cannot  be  ade- 
quately estimated  by  a  description  of  the  disease  or  "fey  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  dangerous  processes,  or  even  by  a  statistical  sum- 
paary  of  the  cases.  The  following  stories,  which  are  the  results 
pf  a  personal  conference  with  the  victims  of  the  poison,  or  in 
the  case  of  death,  with  their  relatives  and  friends,  give  inti- 
mate pictures  of  misery,  want  and  destitution  which  becomes 
all  the  more  harrowing  when  we  know  that  most  of  it  could  be 
prevented.  Many  of  these  workers  are  young  men,  most  of  them 
.have  families  to  provide  for,  many  of  them  have  been  compelled 
to  remain  out  of  work  for  weeks  and  months,  some  have  been 
permanently  incapacitated.  The  mere  loss  of  efficiency,  the  mere 
^oss  of  earning  power,  should  appeal  not  only  to  employers,  but 
to  the  State  and  to  the  public  at  large,  as  wasteful  and  unwise, 
ps  an  extravagent  expenditure  of  human  energy  and  human 
vitality. 

It  has  not  been  our  aim,  in  presenting  these  cases,  to  draw 
.forth  all  the  harrowing  and  pathetic  details  which  were  all  aboufc 
us,  in  our  visits  to  almost  unfurnished,  ragged,  poverty-stricken 
tomes.  We  have  sought  rather  to  present  in  story  form  the  plain 
.bare  facts  and  to  allow  the  reader  to  draw  the  picture  of  the 
.home  and  the  inmates  and  to  draw  for  himself  the  conclusions 
which  inevitably  follow. 

I. 

INDUSTEIAL  WOKKEBS. 
Case  No.  I—Paul  B— 

Fifty-eight  years  of  age,  a  Slav,  from  Austria,  where  he  had 
,been  a  farmer,  came  to  this  country  in  1889.  It  is  not  clear 
exactly  what  he  did  upon  his  arrival  in  America,  but  before  long  lie 
found  employment  in  a  wire  mill  where  he  remained  five  years. 


442  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Jn  1897  he  got  a  job  at  a  white  lead  works.  He  worked  there 
.for  14  years  and  left  about  Christmas,  1910,  because  he  was 
,110  longer  able  to  work.  His  particular  job  in  the  lead  works 
was  the  stripping  of  the  corroding  beds.  (See  photos  Nos.  25 
and  28.)  This  job  compelled  him  to  empty  the  pots  of  corroded 
lead.  He  earned  $12  per  week  and  worked  nine  hours  per  day. 
Nine  months" after  he  went  to  work  in  the  white  lead  works  he  had 
his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning,  and  was  out  of  work  a  month; 
at  the  end  of  that  time  he  went  back  to  work  and  worked  for  five 
months  when  he  had  another  attack  and  was  out  of  work  for 
three  weeks.  From  this  time  until  he  left  the  work  he  states  that 
he  worked  only  about  half  the  time,  and  the  other  half  he  was 
disabled  on  account  of  lead  poisoning. 

B —  spoke  only  a  few  words  of  English,  but  an  intelligent 
lad  interpreted.  As  far  as  could  be  learned  the  man  had  never 
been  instructed,  in  any  way,  how  to  properly  care  for  himself 
in  order  to  prevent  disease.  He  was  accustomed,  he  said,  to  wear 
a  handkerchief  about  his  face.  He  was  never  given  soap  or 
towels.  His  breakfast  usually  consisted  merely  of  coffee.  So 
great  is  his  ignorance,  even  after  consulting  physicians,  that 
he  ascribes  the  paralysis  of  his  hands  to  the  cold  water  in  which 
he  was  accustomed  to  wash  them  at  the  end  of  his  day's  work. 

The  old  man  —  old  before  his  time,  is  a  pitiable  figure.  He 
is  a  physical  wreck,  his  gait  is  slow  and  uncertain,  his  cheeks 
are  sunken  and  his  face  pallid.  His  hands  are  partially  par- 
alyzed. He  can  lift  weights  and  can  move  his  fingers  somewhat, 
but  he  cannot  put  on  his  coat.  He  has  not,  however,  the  char- 
acteristic wrist  drop. 

He  is  practically  a  pauper.  He  gathers  wood  from  nearby 
scrap  heaps,  chops  and  saws  it,  A  Slav  family  who  have  taken 
pity  on  him  permit  him  to  sleep  in  a  damp  cellar  and  give  him 
the  scraps  from  the  table — "Not  much,"  he  says.  The  white 
lead  company  has  given  him  nothing.  A  pensioner  of  our 
industrial  G.  A.  R. 
Case  No  2. —  Stephen  H — : 

A  young  Pole  who  had  been  working  in  the  white  lead  mills 
for  three  years,  1908  to  1911.  He  had  had  several  attacks  of 
Jead  poisoning  and  had  left  the  mills  a  few  days  before  he  was 
seen  by  the  investigator. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  443 

Case  No.  3. —  George  H — : 

He  was  born  in  Germany,  1878.  He  worked  in  1901  as  watch- 
man for  an  express  company.  Since  1902  has  worked  at  a  ma- 
chine factory  in  the  rope  department,  as  a  rope  mender  and  jan- 
itor. This  factory  does  special  work  for  ships.  Last  year,  1910, 
he  filled  in  the  mast  of  one  of  the  ships  with  white  lead,  he  worked 
only  two  days  on  the  job;  soon  after  his  left  hand  became  weak 
and  shrunken  and  he  went  to  the  hospital  where  the  doctors  told 
Jrim  that  he  had  lead  poisoning  of  the  nerves  of  the  hand  and 
arm.  He  staid  in  the  hospital  two  weeks,  and  has  used  electricity 
for  nearly  a  year  with  very  little  benefit,  the  arm  is  slightly  bet- 
ter, but  the  hand  does  not  improve. 

Case  No.  4- —  Thomas  S — : 

Was  born  in  America,  1859,  died  October  22,  1910.  He  had 
worked  in  the  white  lead  mills  for  twenty-five  years  steadily 
and  until  within  three  days  of  his  death  he  had  never  been  ill 
enough  from  the  lead  poisoning  to  lose  a  day's  work.  Occasion- 
ally he  had  had  slight  stomach  attacks  for  which  he  doctored  him- 
self with  salts.  He  worked  in  the  cooperage  department  heading 
up  barrels  filled  with  dry  white  lead.  He  was  very  careful  about 
.washing  himself  before  eating  and  very  particular  about  himself 
in  every  way.  He  drank  beer  with  his  meals  as  he  thought  that 
would  counteract  the  lead  poison ;  he  smoked  a  great  deal. 

The  only  illnesses  Mrs.  S —  remembered  her  husband  to  have 
.had  were  smallpox  in  1901  and  pneumonia  in  1906.  His  last 
illness  lasted  only  three  days,  and  the  doctor  at  first  thought 
it  appendicitis,  but  decided  later  that  it  was  lead  colic,  and  death 
.was  due  to  internal  hemorrhage. 

Case  No.  5.— Peter  P-: 

Three  months,  August,  September  and  October,  1910,  were 
enough  to  give  Peter  P — ,  a  "  mixer "  for  a  white  lead 
.company,  a  dose  of  lead  poisoning  severe  enough  to  make  him 
.leave  the  industry.  He  is  now  picking  up  a  precarious  living 
as  a  longshoreman  on  the  Brooklyn  docks.  His  total  weekly  in- 
come averages  about  $7.50,  but  his  health  is  safe,  and  at  any  rate 
he  received  only  $8.85  from  the  lead  company. 


444  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

Coming  fresh  from  the  farms  of  his  native  Lithuania,  P— 
landed  here  in  1909.  He  is  a  well-built,  bright-eyed,  intelli- 
gent man.  Only  the  bar  of  language  prevents  his  making  his 
.mark  in  America.  For  a  few  months  after  landing  he  worked 
,as  a  longshoreman,  his  present  occupation.  His  pay  was  then 
,$5  or  $6  per  week,  according  to  the  way  work  ran  —  some  days 
,he  put  in  twelve  hours,  some  only  two ;  about  forty  hours  a  week 
was  the  average.  He  had  only  half  an  hour  for  dinner,  and  was 
.almost  certain  of  being  unemployed  a  day  or  two  of  every  week ; 
]but  at  any  rate  he  never  was  ill. 

From  sometime  in  the  fall  of  1909,  until  August,  1910,  P — • 
was  on  the  payroll  of  a  large  sugar  company. 

P's —  third  American  joib  was  a  bad  one.  For  some- 
time in  August,  1910,  to  the  end  of  October,  he  stood  for  ten 
hours  a  day,  nine  hours  on  Saturday,  over  a  great  iron  mixing 
bowl,  in  which  water,  oil  and  white  lead  were  being  kneaded 
,to  make  the  white  lead  to  be  used  for  ship-building  and  paint- 
ing. The  workers  have  to  pour  in  the  ingredients,  supervise 
the  mixing  process,  and  take  out  the  finished  product.  Before 
the  three  months  were  up,  P —  was  incapacitated.  Severe 
cramps  and  colic  and  a  slight  headache  fastened  on  him  and 
.kept  him  from  work.  This  and  the  consequent  weakness  lasted 
.two  full  months,  at  the  end  of  which  time,  being  again  able  to 
work,  he  became  a  farm  hand  on  the  outskirts  of  Brooklyn. 
Here,  in  a  little  place  on  K —  Street,  he  did  chores  and 
tended  live-stock  from  December,  1910,  until  the  following 
May,  for  $18  per  month  and  his  keep.  In  May  he  returned  to 
the  docks,  where  he  now  is,  as  described  above. 

The  effect  of  the  lead  poisoning,  which  was  so  diagnosed  by 
the  company's  doctor,  seems  now  to  be  gone,  except  that  P — 
complains  that  he  is  not  as  strong  as  before  the  attack.  He 
looks,  however,  perfectly  well. 

P —  says  no  instructions  for  care  or  cleanliness  were 
ever  given  him  in  the  lead  shop,  and  that  he  never  saw  any 
instructions  posted.  His  customary  breakfast  is  meat,  potatoes, 
bread  and  coffee.  He  uses  no  tobacco  at  all,  and  only 
one  glass  of  beer  daily  with  meals.  While  in  the  lead  factory, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  445 

Jie  regularly  came  home  to  dinner  at  noon,  living  only  a  block 
or  two  from  the  shop,  and  did  not  eat  in  the  workroom.  At  home 
he  found  a  plentiful  supply  of  hot  water,  which  he  used  for 
washing  his  hands.  He  changed  all  his  clothing  except  under- 
wear at  the  factory;  wears  a  mustache  but  no  beard.  The  com- 
pany provided  a  hot  and  cold  water  supply,  and  a  doctor,  but 
took  no  other  precautions  for  their  men,  he  says. 

Case  No,  6  —  Julius  S — : 

Living  in  the  same  apartment  with  Peter  P — ,  previously 
described,  we  found  Julius  S — ,  a  young  man  of  21,  whose  experi- 
ence was  at  all  points  almost  similar. 

S —  also  was  born  in  Lithuania,  in  the  same  village  as 
P — .  He  came  here  in  1909,  and  has  spent  the  two  years 
in  Brooklyn.  His  first  job  in  this  country  was  with  a  white 
lead  company.  He  was  a  stripper;  that  is,  he  stacked  the  steel 
"  buckles  "  in  jars,  in  tiers  in  the  corroding  room,  and  then  at 
the  end  of  the  allotted  100  days  went  around  and  "  stripped  " 
or  emptied  the  pots  into  little  cars,  to  be  hauled  away  to  the 
next  process.  (See  photos  Nos.  14,  15  and  16.)  This  is  one 
of  the  most  dangerous  jobs  in  the  plant,  and  S —  held  it  about 
nineteen  months,  January,  1910,  to  July  1,  1911.  Toward  the 
end  of  this  period  he  used  to  lose  about  three  days  every  month 
due  to  colic,  nausea  and  vomiting,  and  when  his  wrists  began 
to  show  signs  of  paralysis  he  left  the  lead  company  and  is  now 
employed  on  the  docks  at  casual  labor. 

While  in  the  lead  company's  employ,  S's —  pay  was  $9.60 
weekly,  for  59  hours'  work.  He  had  only  half  an  hour  for  din- 
ner. Now  his  pay  varies  from  $2  to  $5  per  week,  and  his  daily 
hours  vary  from  1  to  6 ;  but  he  has  a  full  hour  for  dinner,  is  in 
the  open  air,  and  is  gradually  recovering  from  the  chronic  stom- 
ach trouble  which  his  lead  experience  gave  him.  In  Europe  he 
was  a  farmer  and  a  herdsman,  and  was  never  sick. 

S —  is  unmarried.  He  says  no  one  gave  him  any  informa- 
tion or  showed  him  any  notice  about  the  care  of  his  person  in 
the  lead  plant.  Meat,  bread  and  coffee  formed  his  breakfast, 
and  he  consumed  daily  five  cigarettes  and  two  or  three  glasses 


446  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

of  beer.  He  also  came  home  to  dinner  from  the  shop,  and  washed 
his  hands  at  home  in  hot  water.  His  clothing  he  changed  at  the 
shop.  He  wears  a  mustache  and  no  beard. 

All  the  precautions  he  knew  of  at  the  plant  were  hot  and  cold 
water  and  a  doctor.  He  did  not  venture  to  suggest  what  might 
be  added.  The  diagnosis  of  lead  poisoning  was  made  by  the 
company's  physician,  and  chronic  stomach  trouble  still  clings 
to  this  man. 

Case  No.   7. —  Franz  S — : 

Is  the  father  of  Julius  S — ,  just  described.  He  was  not 
£een  because  he  has  now  returned  to  Europe,  realizing  that  Amer- 
ica was  "  no  good "  for  him,  but  his  son  furnished  full 
information. 

Franz  was  the  first  of  the  two  to  come  to  this  country.  He 
arrived  from  Lithuania,  where  he  had  been  a  cattle  herder  and 
horseman,  in  1908;  he  at  once  secured  work  with  a  white  lead 
company,  and  the  following  year  sent  for  his  son. 

The  father  was  no  more  fortunate  than  the  son.  He  also  was 
a  stripper,  in  the  corroding  beds  of  the  lead  plant.  His  pay  was 
$9.60,  his  hours  ten  a  day,  nine  on  Saturday,  with  half  an  hour 
for  dinner.  At  this  job.  the  only  one  he  ever  held  in  America, 
he  stayed  about  three  years.  He  lost  from  two  to  four  days 
every  month  from  lead  colic,  headache  and  vomiting  spells; 
his  wrists  also  began  to  grow  weak  and  numb.  Finally,  in  Oc- 
tober, 1911,  three  months  after  his  son  left  the  lead  works  for 
the  docks,  the  older  man  sailed  back  to  his  family  and  his  native 
land.  He  is  now  reported  to  be  doing  well. 

According  to  the  son,  no  warnings  or  instructions  were  given 
to  his  father  in  the  shop  any  more  than  to  himself.  The  older 
man  wore  a  mustache,  but  no  beard,  never  touched  either  alcohol 
pr  tobacco,  always  washed  in  hot  water  before  eating,  and  made 
a  regular  breakfast  on  coffee  and  rolls.  He  came  home  for  din- 
ner, and  there  is  no  indication  of  any  non-industrial  cause  for 
his  illness.  In  his  case,  also,  it  was  the  factory  physician  who 
made  the  diagnosis  of  the  lead  poisoning. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  447 

Case  No.  8. —  Samuel  B — : 

,  The  neighborhood,  about  two  of  the  plants  which  are  located 
.near  together,  is  filled  with  lead  poisoning  cases.  One  can  hardly 
,walk  without  stumbling  into  them.  A  map  dotted  with  a  red 
pin  for  every  case  would  look  like  the  tuberculosis  map  of  the 
New  York  "  Lung  Block."  Thus  the  three  cases  just  recounted 
were  all  found  at  the  same  address,  and  in  the  same  apartment. 
,  While  searching  another  house,  only  a  block  away  from  the 
.place  where  the  last  three  cases  were  found,  for  a  man  whose 
.record  we  had,  but  who  seemed  to  have  moved  and  left  no  trace, 
the  present  case  was  located.  Samuel  B —  is  a  huge,  pallid- 
laced  youth,  with  only  a  few  words  of  English  at  his  command. 
,His  wife,  smaller,  bright-eyed  and  vivacious,  acted  as  interpre- 
ter, and  when  she  had  done  this  service,  piloted  the  investigator 
two  doors  further  up  the  street,  to  the  home  of  a  fellow  workman 
of  her  husband's,  who  had  been  down  with  the  colic  just  the 
week  previous. 

B —  was  born  in  Poland,  1885,  his  parents  being  Polish 
Catholics,  of  the  town  of  Prasnis.  There  at  the  age  of  fourteen 
Samuel  started  to  learn  the  trade  of  carriage  making.  He  con- 
fined himself  entirely  to  the  wood-working  part  of  this  industry, 
turning  out  parts  for  the  vehicles,  and  assembling  them,  but  never 
doing  any  painting  on  them.  He  kept  at  this  work  for  eight 
years,  earning  $2  (4  rubles)  a  week,  for  twelve  hours  a  day, 
seventy-two  per  week,  with  one  hour  off  for  dinner.  He  lost  no 
time,  either  through  illness  or  slack  work. 

In  July,  1907,  B —  came  to  America,  and  at  once  went  into 
the  employ  of  the  white  lead  company,  where  he  became  a  stripper. 
A'  stripper's  duties  are  to  stack  the  lead  buckles  in  jars  over 
weak  acetic  acid,  and  stack  these  jars  in  tiers  in  long  rooms,  the 
.floors  of  which  are  spread  with  tan-bark.  When  the  corrosion 
has  suitably  advanced,  after  100  days  or  so,  the  stripper  takes 
.down  the  stacks  and  empties  out  the  white  lead  which  has  formed 
in  crumbly  cakes  and  powder.  B — 's  pay  for  this  work  was 
$9.60  per  week,  for  59  hours.  He  was  given  only  the  inade- 
quate time  of  half  an  hour  for  dinner.  He  lost  no  time  through 
.slack  work,  but  every  year  was  incapacitated  from  one  to  two 
weeks. 


448  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

The  nature  of  the  incapacity  was  the  usual  one  with  lead 
workers;  severe  cramps,  colic,  constipation,  vomiting  and  loss 
of  appetite.  B —  has  been  in  this  place  now  for  four  years, 
and  has  had  four  separate  attacks,  all  with  the  identical  symp- 
,toms.  These  attacks  came  from  eight  to  sixteen  months  apart, 
pnd  lasted  each  from  five  to  fourteen  days. 

This  workman  married  in  1908,  while  working  at  lead.  He 
.has  since  had  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  who  look  pale  and 
.ill-nourished,  as  would  be  expected  when  the  pettiness  of  his 
pay  is  considered,  but  show  no  specific  signs  of  lead  poisoning. 
His  wife,  22  years  old,  is  plump  and  wholesome. 

"  No !  "  was  the  answer  of  both  B —  and  his  wife  when 
asked  about  warnings  or  signs  in  the  factory.  He  does  not  eat 
.there,  coming  home  to  dinner.  At  meals  he  drinks  two  glasses 
,of  beer  per  day;  he  chews  almost  continuously,  and  every  day 
smokes  from  five  to  ten  cigarettes.  Two  cups  of  coffee  make  up 
.his  breakfast.  He  "  sometimes  "  washes  before  eating,  in  cold 
water,  and  does  not  change  his  clothes  either  in  the  factory  or 
at  home.  He  is  clean-shaven. 

The  factory  doctor  made  the  lead  poisoning  diagnosis.  He 
knows  of  no  permanent  effect  from  his  many  attacks,  but  his  face 
is  pale  almost  to  lividness,  marking  probable  an  extreme  anemia. 

Case  No.  9. —  Paulus  M — : 

This  is  the  man  to  whom  the  wife  of  B —  led  the  investi- 
gator when  she  had  completed  her  husband's  record. 

He  is  a  much  different  type  of  a  man,  smaller,  more  energetic, 
and  also  more  nervous.  He  also  works  in  the  plant  of  a  whife 
Jead  company,  where  he  is  a  furnace  hand.  His  duties,  as  near  as 
they  could  be  made  out  from  his  gesticulating  description,  are  to 
put  the  lead  pigs  into  a  melting  pot,  stir  them  up,  skim  off  the 
dross,  and  run  the  lead  out  into  the  flat  "  buckles,"  of  which  the 
white  lead  is  made.  He  works  alternate  weeks  on  the  day  and 
night  shift.  On  the  day  shift  he  puts  in  ten  hours  daily,  nine 
on  Saturday,  and  gets  $12  per  week.  On  the  night  shift  he  gets 
$13.20,  but  has  to  put  in  thirteen  hours  a  night  to  get  it.  On 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  4-49 

both  shifts  his  lunch  time  is  one-half  hour.     About  two  weeks  a 
year  are  lost  through  slack  time. 

M —  has  held  his  present  job  ever  since  coming'  to  the 
country,  in  October,  1903.  For  five  years  he  withstood  the  dan- 
gers of  his  occupation.  Suddenly,  in  1909,  he  was  taken  with 
terrible  headaches,  cramps,  weight  on  chest,  constipation  and  stiff- 
ness of  the  legs.  This  lasted  a  week.  He  took  medical  treat- 
ment and  worked  about  a  year  before  he  had  another  attack.  In 

1910,  however,  he  lost  another  week  in  the  same  way.     In  the 
present  year  he  has  lost  four  weeks  at  various  times,  and  to  the 
foregoing  symptoms  has  been  added  a  doubling  up  of  the  fingers, 
which  he  cannot  straighten.     When  interviewed  on  December  18, 

1911,  he  had  just  lost  from  Monday  to  Saturday  of  the  preceding 
week  through  an  attack.     He  showed  the  investigator  a  bottle  of 
medicine  bearing  the  name  of  the  company  doctor,  and  told  of  his 
conversation  with  the  latter  about  staying  out  of  work  for  the 
week.     Yet  this  man's  name  was  not  on  a  list  furnished  by  the 
physician,  and  said  by  him  to  contain  all  the  cases  he  had  had 
during  the  year. 

M —  was  born  in  Poland  in  1872.  From  1889  to  August, 
,1903,  he  worked  on  his  father's  farm,  the  usual  "  stint "  being 
from  ten  to  sixteen  hours.  He  reports  no  illness  during  this 
.period.  He  married  in  1900.  His  wife  was  born  in  1872,  and 
(has  had  four  children.  The  third  of  these,  a  girl,  was  born  in 
1905,  and  died  the  same  year  of  summer  complaint.  The  other 
three  are  alive  and  fairly  healthy. 

No  instructions  were  given  him,  he  says,  on  going  to  work  in 
the  plant,  and  he  knows  of  no  warning  notices.  Bread,  butter  and 
coffee  are  his  breakfast;  he  uses  no  tobacco,  but  takes  a  glass  or 
two  of  beer  daily.  He  comes  home  to  dinner,  and  washes  in  hot 
water  before  sitting  down  to  the  table.  He  also  is  careful  to 
change  his  clothes  in  the  factory.  He  has  a  mustache  and  no 
freard.  The  doctor  and  hot  and  cold  water  are  the  only  factory 
precautions  he  knows  to  be  in  use;  wash  rooms,  lunch  rooms, 
soap  and  towels  he  thinks  would  be  good  things. 

The  company  physician  diagnosed  this  man's  case  as  lead  poi- 
soning. Weakne&s  and  anemia  are  the  results  of  his  repeated 
attacks. 

15 


450  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Case  No.  10.— Nathan  G-: 

On  February  27,  1910,  the  hospital  ambulance  clattered  up  to 
a  houee  on  W —  street^  Brooklyn.  The  ambulance  surgeou 
found  Nathan  G —  suffering  from  acute  lead  poisoning,  but, 
after  treating  him,  advised  the  victim  to  wait  a  day  and  then  walk 
to  the  hospital  himself  if  he  was  still  in  pain. 

This  program  was  followed;  on  February  28th  G—  was 
.admitted  to  the  hospital,  remained  there  until  March  7th,  and 
was  discharged  "  recovered  but  anemic."  The  attack  had  in 
fact  begun  in  a  mild  form  two  weeks  before;  then  came  an  inter- 
val of  quiescence,  and  finally  the  crucial  pain  that  led  to  the  ambu- 
Jance  call.  No  lead  line  was  found  on  the  patient's  gums  by  the 
.hospital  staff,  but  his  case  was  definitely  set  down  as  lead 
poisoning. 

G —  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  rolling  stone  in  industry,  having 
had  innumerable  jobs,  keeping  each  but  a  short  while.  Tailoring, 
shoemaking  and  harnessmaking  are  his  main  lines;  the  cobbler's 
.trade  he  learned  in  Poland,  between  1895  and  1903,  and  has  now 
for  a  time  resumed  it.  On  these  casual  jobs  he  earns  from 
$6  to  $9  or  $10  per  week. 

It  was  in  December,  1909,  that  he  became  a  white  lead  worker. 
At  his  job  he  was  called  a  "  mixer,"  i.  e.,  he  mixed  the  lead  car- 
bonate with  oil  and  water  to  make  the  commercial  white  lead.  In 
the  three  months  or  less  that  followed  he  got  his  "  leading."  He 
Jeft  the  white  lead  works  for  the  hospital,  and  has  never  gone 
back.  At  present  he  is  cobbling  shoes  on  42d  street,  New  York. 

While  in  the  white  lead  works  G —  got  $9.60  per  week  for 
,59  hours,  with  a  half  hour  for  dinner.  His  symptoms  when 
taken  ill  were  cramps,  colic,  vomiting  and  loss  of  appetite.  He  is 
unmarried.  He  says  he  was  instructed  in  the  factory  to  be  care- 
ful to  wash  his  hands  and  keep  out  of  the  dust  all  he  could.  He 
remembers  no  notices  on  the  walls.  His  breakfast  consisted  of 
coffee  and  rolls;  two  or  three  glasses  of  beer  a  day  is  his  allow- 
ance, with  a  finger  of  whisky  occasionally,  and  he  smokes  about 
ten  cigarettes  daily.  He  disregarded,  it  seems,  the  warning  to 
wash,  and  very  seldom  cleaned  his  hands  before  dinner,  for  which 
jhe  used  to  come  home  from  the  shop.  He  wears  a  mustache,  but 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  451 

no  beard.      II<-   speak-   of  lockers   for   the  men's  clothing  in   the 
plant. 

He  was  born  in  Poland  in  1883,  came  to  America  in  1903,  and 
has  lived  all  eight  years  in  New  York  and  Brooklyn. 

Cane  No.  11. —  Alex  P — : 

This  man  was  found  at  his  home,  two  blocks  away  from  this 
lead  factory  where  he  was  poisoned,  while  the  investigator  was 
looking  for  another  victim  of  lead  in  the  same  house. 

P — ,  while  of  middle  age,  is  pale,  sallow  and  hollow- 
chested,  almost  a  wreck ;  but  the  most  interesting  thing  about  his 
case  is  that  of  his  eight  children,  the  four  born  in  1903,  1904, 
1905  and  1906,  respectively,  were  either  born  dead  or  died  of 
inanition  in  the  first  half  week  of  their  lives.  The  mother,  an 
over-fleshy  person  below  middle  height,  does  not  seem  to  have  any 
of  the  symptoms  of  lead  poisoning,  but  the  four  successive  infant 
fatalities  are  very  significant.  All  four  deaths  occurred  while  the 
father  was  working  as  a  stripper  in  the  white  lead  works. 

The  father  has  had  two  distinct  and  emphatic  attacks  of  plumb- 
issin.  The  first,  in  November,  1910,  kept  him  in  bed  for  two 
weeks.  He  recovered  under  treatment,  returned  to  stripping, 
and  four  months  later,  in  March,  1911,  was  brought  down  with  a 
more  malignant  attack.  This  time  he  again  spent  two  weeks  in 
bed,  but  was  compelled  to  remain  out  of  work,  convalescing,  for 
six  weeks  longer,  so  slowly  did  his  strength  return.  His  weight 
fell  from  1GO  to  140  pounds. 

This  worker  is  a  Catholic,  born  in  Poland  in  1871.  At  the 
"age  of  12  he  began  working  on  his  father's  farm,  in  the  village  of 
Braznis.  He  stayed  there  for  eight  years,  and  in  November, 
1891,  came  to  America.  Oil  this  side  he  first  found  work  in  the 
cooperage  plant  at  Bayonne,  N.  J. 

Moving  in  1897,  to  Brooklyn,  this  man  worked  fourteen  years, 
until  March,  1911,  as  a  stacker  and  stripper  for  a  white  lead 
company.  This  is  the  most  dangerous  part  of  the  white  lead 
process,  but  P —  seem>  to  have  withstood  it  a  long  time. 
Finally,  in  November,  1910,  he  came  down  with  a  terrible  case  of 
colic,  semi-paralysis  of  hands  and  feet,  terribly  swollen  legs  and 


452  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

.hands,  and  excruciating  pains  all  over  the  body.  Not  taking 
warning  by  the  experience,  he  returned  to  the  corroding  beds  after 
two  weeks'  illness,  and  in  March  was  seized  with  the  attack  which 
finally  made  him  realize  that  that  shop  was  no  place  for  him. 
The  seizure  was  identical  with  the  first,  except  that  it  weakened 
him  more,  and  he  was  full  two  months  getting  on  his  feet  again. 

While  at  this  poisonous  work  P — 's  pay  was  $12  per  week  for 
59  hours'  work,  with  a  half  hour  for  lunch. 

From  May  till  August,  1911,  the  convalescent  was  unable  to 
find  employment.  In  the  latter  month  he  was  taken  on  as  a  por- 
ter in  an  office  building,  on  lower  Broadway.  Here  lie  sweeps 
and  washes  floor,  polishes  brass  fixtures  and  other  coarse  work. 
His  hours  are  twelve  a  day,  seventy-two  a  week,  with  one  hour 
for  lunch;  pay,  $10. 

P — 's  wife  was  born  in  1878.  Besides  the  four  children 
who  have  been  mentioned  as  dying  within  four  days  after  birth, 
and  who  were  all  boys,  she  has  had  four  more,  all  of  whom  are 
alive  and  of  fair  physique,  perhaps  somewhat  inclined  to  over- 
fleshiness,  like  their  mother,  with  the  exception  of  the  one  boy, 
who  is  small  and  "  old  "  looking.  The  girls  are  16,  12,  10,  re- 
spectively, the  boy  13. 

Instructions  were  given  to  the  man  for  taking  care  of  himself 
in  the  shop,  but  he  says  he  saw  no  signs.  His  regular  breakfast 
was  coffee,  bread  and  butter.  He  does  not  drink  at  all,  and 
smokes  only  one  paper  of  tobacco  a  week,  in  corn-cob  pipe.  He 
always  came  home  to  dinner,  and  washed  his  hands  in  hot  water. 
He  changed  his  clothes  in  the  factory,  and  wears  a  mustache  but  no 
beard. 

In  the  factory  were  hot  and  cold  water,  respirators  for  some  of 
the  men,  and  a  doctor.  He  would  have  liked  to  have  added  lunch 
rooms,  wash  rooms,  decent  toilets  and  lockers. 

Case  No.  12.—Thaddeus  K-: 

Living  in  the  same  miserable  cellar  single-room  apartment,  sleep- 
ing in  the  same  bed  with  his  friend  Milkas,  Thaddeus  K —  was 
discovered,  as  ex-employee  of  a  lead  company. 

K —  is  now  lugging  sugar  barrels  on  the  Brooklyn  docks  for 
from  $10  to  $12  per  week  of  about  63  hours  on  the  average. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  453 

His  statement  that  he  gets  only  one-half  hour  for  dinner  is  at  vari- 
ance with  that  of  other  lead  victims  now  working  on  the 
docks.  Perhaps  he  cuts  his  meal  hour  down  in  order  to  put  in 
over-time.  Before  going  on  the  docks  this  man  worked  for  five 
years,  from  August,  1906,  to  October,  1911,  with  several  short 
interruptions,  as  a  stacker  and  stripper  in  the  corroding  beds  of 
the  white  lead  plant.  His  pay  during  this  time  was  $9.60  for  59 
hours  per  week,  one-half  hour  for  dinner.  From  the  time  of  his 
immigration,  May  1905,  until  becoming  a  lead  worker  later  in 
the  same  year,  K —  worked  on  the  sugar  docks,  60  hours  weekly, 
for  about  $9.50. 

During  his  lead  factory  life  this  man  had  two  acute  attacks  of 
lead  illness,  one  in  1910,  costing  him  two  weeks'  work,  and  one 
in  1911,  costing  him  three  weeks'  work.  The  symptoms  both 
times  were  the  same:  arms  and  fingers  partly  paralyzed,  pains 
in  head  and  stomach,  muscular  and  articular  pains  in  the  legs  and 
especially  in  the  knees. 

While  married  six  years,  this  man  has  no  children,  having  left 
Jhis  wife  behind  when  he  came  over,  the  very  year  of  his  marriage. 
No  instructions  as  to  personal  care  were  given  him  or  posted  in 
the  lead  factory  that  he  knows  of.  Coffee,  bread  and  sometimes 
meat  made  his  breakfast,  and  the  same,  with  two  or  three  glasses 
of  beer,  made  his  supper.  He  never  uses  tobacco.  Lunch  was 
taken  in  the  work-room,  and  was  always  preceded  by  a  thorough 
washing  in  cold  water,  the  only  kind  the  factory  provided.  He 
always  changed  his  outer  clothing  before  leaving  the  factory.  No 
other  than  an  industrial  cause  can  be  held  responsible  for  this 
man's  illness. 

Case  No.  13.— Frank  W-: 

Coming  from  St.  Philips'  Parish,  Barbadoes,  where  he  had  been 
a  school  teacher,  to  New  York  in  1906,  Frank  W — ,  a  negro, 
found  work  at  a  factory  where  red  lead  or  lead  oxide  is  made,  and 
stayed  there  nearly  five  years,  until  he  was  so  thoroughly  leaded 
that  he  could  not  stand  it  any  longer.  Then  he  left  it  and  has 
been  unemployed  ever  since. 

W —  was  a  porter  at  the  lead  works;  he  carried  bundles  of 
dry  lead  from  the  shop  to  the  delivery  trucks  outside.  Once  in  a 


4f>4  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

while  he  did  some  packing  and  wrapping,  but  this  was  not  his 
work.  At  the  beginning  of  his  employment  there  he  got  $9  per 
week,  later  $12,  the  time  remained  59  hours  per  week,  10  per 
day,  one-half  hour  for  dinner. 

W — 's  lead  poisoning  showed  itself  by  cramps  in  the  stom- 
ach, weakness  of  the  wrists  and  fingers,  also  of  the  ankles  and 
legs,  and  vomiting.  He  had  three  acute  attacks,  losing  thereby 
one  week  in  1908,  two  years  after  beginning  the  work,  two  weeks 
in  1910,  and  two  weeks  more  in  May,  1911,  when  he  decided  to 
leave  the  industry. 

He  has  one  child,  a  girl,  born  this  year,  who,  he  says,  is  sound 
and  well. 

W —  is  a  very  well-read  and  intelligent  man,  a  West  Indian 
negro  of  culture.  How  he  comes  to  be  working  in  a  lead  factory 
is  quite  inexplicable.  He  conversed  freely  in  excellent  English 
about  the  plant  and  its  conditions.  According  to  him,  he  was 
carefully  warned  how  to  care  for  and  clean  himself  from  the  lead, 
and  he  says  the  whole  factory  is  placarded  with  warning  notices. 
Before  going  to  work  this  man  used  always  to  breakfast  on  coffee, 
eggs  and  bread ;  once  in  a  while,  very  rarely,  he  smokes  a  cigar  or 
takes  a  little  beer.  Most  of  the  time  he  ate  in  the  work-room, 
washing  his  hands  with  warm  water  and  soap  powder,  and  changed 
his  clothes  before  leaving  the  shop.  He  is  clean  shaven. 

According  to  W — ,  the  lead  factory  is  fitted  with  vend 
lation  hoods,  exhaust  fans,  wash-rooms,  soap,  towels,  hot  and  cold 
water,  lockers  and  respirators,  besides  a  doctor;  perhaps  the  fact 
that  he  wns  not  in  the  actual  manufacturing  part  of  the  plant 
gave  him  superior  accommodations  to  those  of  the  majority  of  the 
employees. 

His  case  was  diagnosed  as  lead  poisoning  by  the  company'- 
physician.  The  only  after-effect  is  a  long-continued  weakness. 

Case  No  1  .—  Thomas  0—: 

He  is  a  young  man  of  22,  a  Polish  Catholic,  round-faced  and 
rather  ruddy.  He  has  been  in  this  country  only  since  August, 
1911,  and  all  that  time  has  worked  at  the  docks  of  a  lead  com- 
pany. He  became  badly  frightened  as  the  investigation  pro- 


OCCUPATIONAL   DISEASES.  455 

gressed,  and  seemed  like  a  man  who  has  told  something  he  was 
ordered  to  keep  secret.  Some  other  men  employed  by  this  same 
company,  and  visited  the  same  day  as  he,  refused  to  talk  at  all, 
and  even  tried  to  conceal  their  identity  when  they  found  out  what 
was  wanted. 

In  Poland  O —  was  a  farmer.  Here,  since  August,  his 
work  has  been  to  unload  lead  pigs  from  the  barges  tied  up  at  the 
company's  docks,  and  load  them  into  wagons,  which  cart  them  to 
one  or  the  other  of  the  company's  plants.  He  works  ten  hours 
a  day,  59  hours  per  week,  one-half  hour  for  dinner,  and  receives 
$9.00.  He  has  lost  no  time  on  account  of  illness,  but  has  com- 
plained of  pains  in  stomach  and  loss  of  appetite.  These  symptoms 
were  strongest  early  last  November,  and  he  has  at  present  a 
bottle  of  medicine  bearing  the  name  of  the  company's  physician, 
who,  he  says,  minimized  his  ailment  and  said  that  it  would 
''  soon  go  away." 

The  young  man  is  unmarried.  He  says  he  was  not  instructed 
in  care  of  the  person  at  the  shop,  and  never  saw  any  notices  doing 
so.  His  ordinary  breakfast  consists  of  meat  and  potatoes;  he 
touches  neither  tobacco  nor  alcohol  in  any  form.  He  comes  home 
from  the  shop  to  dinner,  and  washes  in  cold  water  before  eating. 
He  changes  his  clothes  at  home  at  night,  after  work,  and  is  clean 
shaven.  Cold  water  and  a  doctor  are  all  the  precautions  the  fac- 
tory takes,  he  says. 

In  his  case  lead  must  have  been  taken  into  the  system,  if  at  all, 
by  putting  the  hands  to  the  mouth  after  handling  the  lead  pigs, 
with  their  fine  coatings  of  oxide. 

Case  No.  15. —  Antonio  M — : 

M —  wa-  born  in  Italy  in  1878;  came  to  America  in  1897. 
In  1907  he  married  an  Italian  girl  who  came  to  America  when 
she  was  two  years  old.  The  couple  have  had  two  children,  one  of 
whom  is  dead;  the  baby,  a  boy  of  two,  is  well  and  strong.  A — 
worked  in  the  white  lead  mills  in  1902,  and  later  came  back  to 
the  mills  three  years  ago,  1908.  He  has  worked  there,  off  and  on, 
during  the  last  three  years.  Three  months  ago  he  went  to  the 
hospital  with  wrist-drop  in  both  hands  and  general  weakness ;  he 


456  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

.stayed  there  two  months  and  then  came  home  stronger,  but  the 
hands  were  unimproved.  He  is  thin  but  has  a  good  color  and 
£eems  strong;  his  teeth  are  good  and  he  has  a  slight  blue  line  on 
the  gums ;  his  hands,  however,  make  him  quite  helpless.  / 

Mrs.   M —  isi  working  in  a  handkerchief  factory,  where  she 
earns  $5  per  week,  on  which  the  family  live. 

Case  No   16.—  John  8—  : 

This  man  came  to  this  country  in  the  month  of  October,  1902. 
He  is  a  Pole,  from  Russia-Poland,  and  is  35  years  of  age.  He 
has  been  married  seven  years  and  has  three  children,  bright 
youngsters  they  are,  too,  two  boys  and  a  girl. 
,  The  investigator  found  him  one  sharp,  cold  Sunday,  huddled 
pver  the  oven  of  a  cook  stove,  which  was  one  of  the  few  articles 
pf  furniture  in  a  single  room  where  he  lived.  His  face  was  white 
and  drawn,  he  was  bent  over  like  an  old  man,  but  despite  the 
.deadening  disease,  a  man  of  considerable  aggressiveness,  intelli- 
gence and  vigor  could  be  distinguished.  When  he  first  came  to 
this  country  he  worked  for  the  S —  Co.,  and  he  stayed 
.there  over  five  and  one-half  years.  He  then,  probably  for  the 
higher  wages  which  this  work  offered,  went  to  a  white  lead  factory, 
where  he  went  to  work  in  the  drying  room  (see  photo  No.  4),  and 
he  received  $13.50  per  week.  His  work  consisted  of  raking  over 
.the  white  lead,  as  it  stood  in  solution  in  the  drying  pans  (see  photo 
No.  4)  and  shoveling  it  into  the  automatic  conveyor,  when  it  was 
dry.  S —  worked  here  for  eight  months,  when  he  was 
taken  sick  with  lead  poisoning  and  was  out  of  work  on  that  account 
,for  three  months.  He  went  back  to  the  dry  room,  and  in  three 
months  he  again  had  a  severe  attack.  This  time  he  was  out  for 
,two  months,  and  spent  about  15  days  at  Bellevue  Hospital.  Again 
,he  went  back  to  the  lead  works,  this  time  he  was  given  a  handy 
job  about  the  yard,  which  he  held  for  11  months,  without  any  bad 
effects,  when  he  was  transferred  to  the  lead  presser.  He  was  only 
on  this  job  for  two  months  when  he  was  again  stricken  and  out  of 
work  for  four  months. 

It  seems  strange  to  us,  perhaps,  that  a  man  will  continue  at  a 
work  which  has  caused  him  much  misery,  but  we  find  this  man 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  457 

going  back  to  it  even  another  time.  This  time  he  took  a  job  as 
furnaceman,  on  the  oxidizing  furnaces.  Here  his  job  was  to  rake 
.over  the  lead  in  the  furnace.  He  was  subjected  to  both  the  dust 
and  the  fumes  of  the  burning  lead.  After  nine  months  at  this 
work,  he  was  again  leaded,  and  has  not  been  able  to  work  since, 
wnich,  at  the  time  of  writing,  is  three  weeks. 
,  This  man's  loss  of  wages  since  he  started  to  work  for  the  lead 
.company,  in  May,  1908,  has  amounted  to  almost  $500,  out  of  a 
yearly  wage  of,  at  best,  slightly  over  $600. 

The  superintendent  of  this  factory  told  the  inspector  that  when 
a  man  showed  the  first  sign  of  being  leaded  he  was  told  to  seek 
work  elsewhere,  and  yet  this  man  has  been  allowed  to  return  time 
and  time  again.  In  fact,  he  has  been  invited  to  return,  and  in 
the  last  week  two  messengers  have  been  sent  to  ask  him  to  come 
back  to  work. 

('axe  No.  17  — John  K— : 

This  man,  in  the  factory,  goes  under  the  name  of"  "  John 
]\I — ,"  because  they  can't  #pell  his  name,  is  a  Russian-Pole, 
who  has  been  in  this  country  since  1904.  Evidently  he  was 
prosperous  at  first  and  got  married  almost  at  once.  He  has  one 
little  girl,  six  years  old,  and  a  baby,  born  only  two  months  ago, 
died  within  two  weeks  of  the  birth.  John  was  at  that  time  in 
the  lead  works.  He  is  only  25  years  of  age. 
,  Before  working  as  a  lead  worker  he  had  held  a  large  number 
of  jobs,  the  oil  works,  box  factory,  etc.,  but  had  never  been  sick. 
Jn  August,  1911,  however,  he  went  to  the  lead  company,  where  he 
was  employed  in  the  presser.  Here  he  earned  a  little  more  than 
he  had  ever  earned  before,  $12  per  week.  The  S —  Co. 
.thought  he  was  only  worth  $10.50.  In  November,  after  working 
in  the  lead  three  months,  he  had  a  severe  attack  of  lead  colic  and 
was  out  a  week,  but  went  back  to  the  job.  A  month  later  he  had 
another  attack,  and  then,  as  he  said,  he  "chucked  the  job."  A 
month  later,  however  (January  7)  he  had  still  marked  evidences 
of  his  leaded  condition.  His  hands  were  still  weak,  his  appear- 
ance anemic  and  he  was  still  unemployed. 


458  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

At  the  factory  he  was  never  instructed  as  to  the  dangers.  He 
£ays  he  saw  placards  in  the  plant,  which  he  thinks  were  instruc- 
tions, but  he  could  not  read  them.  He  drinks  moderately.  He 
was  permitted  to  eat  where  he  worked  and  did  not  always  get  a 
.chance  to  wash,  and  then  only  with  cold  water. 

John  says  he  is  not  going  back  to  that  job  again. 

Case  No.  18.— Frank  P-: 

He  came  to  America  from  Russia-Poland  in  1901.  He  married 
in  1906.  He  has  four  stepchildren  and  a  daughter  of  his  own. 
He  is  30  years  of  age. 

After  having  had  a  number  of  jobs,  in  various  places,  mostly  in 
Long  Island  City,  he  went  to  work  for  a  white  lead  company.  His 
job  was  at  the  press.  Here  he  worked  for  six  months,  when  he 
was  seized  with  his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning,  and  was  out 
for  two  months.  Again  he  went  back  to  the  same  job,  and  he  was 
again  taken  down  with  the  poison.  This  time  he  lost  about  two 
weeks'  work.  He  is  back  on  the  job  working  at  the  press,  where 
Jie  has  now  been  for  about  four  months.  He  has  a  lead  line  on 
,the  gums  which  is  very  marked  and  his  wife  says  he  has  con- 
stantly recurring  attacks  of  a  serious  character. 

Like  the  other  workmen  in  this  plant,  P —  has  not  been  in- 
structed or  warned.  He  smokes  little,  drinks  a  little,  eats  almost 
no  breakfast,  and  is  doing  nothing  of  a  definite  character  to  pre- 
vent a  recurrence  of  the  attacks.  He  can't  speak  much  English, 
but  is  bright  and  intelligent,  and  would  doubtless  be  able  to  com- 
prehend the  dangers  and  properly  safeguard  himself  if  he  was 
properly  instructed  in  his  own  language. 

Case  No.  19.—  Aleck  P — : 

Aleck  is  a  brother  of  Frank  of  the  same  name,  whose  case  is 
given  as  No.  18.  He  has  not  yet  been  in  this  country  a  year, 
is  a  fine  young  fellow,  age  21  years,  but  \vith  almost  no  knowl- 
edge of  English. 

The  first  job  he  got  when  he  came  to  this  country  was  as  a 
stripper  of  the  corroding  beds  of  a  white  lead  factory.  (See 
photos,  2  and  2b.)  He  got  $10.50  at  this  work,  a  considerable 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  459 

wage  for  him,  and  he  held  his  job  for  two  months.  He  was  then 
taken  with  a  slight  attack  of  lead  colic,  which  kept  him  out  of 
work  for  about  a  week.  Aleck  then  got  a  job  on  a  farm,  where 
he  only  earned  $15  a  month,  but  where  he  regained  his  health,  as 
js  evident  from  his  healthy  color.  He  came  back  from  the  farm 
and  found  work  at  a  terra  cotta  works,  where  he  says  he  did  every- 
thing around  the  place,  and  was  healthy  at  it,  but  he  only  got  $9, 
and  that  $10.50  at  the  lead  works  worried  him,  and  so  he  is  back 
.there  again  now,  has  been  working  there  one  week.  He  is  not 
working  on  the  corroding  beds,  but  is  packing  red  lead  in  barrels. 
(See  photo  No.  11.)  He  shows  no  signs  of  being  leaded.  He  has 
a  perfectly  healthy,  even  ruddy,  complexion,  but  in  view  of  his 
previous  slight  attack  of  colic,  it  is  only  a  question  of  time  at  this 
job  until  he  will  again  be  leaded  and  will  be  as  sick  a  man  as  his 
.brother. 

He  has  been  given  no  instructions,  drinks  a  little,  smokes  a 
little.  His  breakfast  consists  of  cakes  and  coffee.  He  eats  his 
lunch  where  he  works,  sometimes  after  washing,  sometimes  not: 
all  he  has  to  wash  with  is  cold  water. 

>c  No.  20.—  Leonard  V> —  : 

He  is  at  present  experiencing  a  bad  attack  of  lead  poisoning, 
which  he  contracted  while  under  the  employ  of  a  company  manu- 
facturing magnetos.  Mr.  B —  is  a  married  man,  46  years 
of  age,  and  has  five  children.  These  children  are  all  in  school 
except  one.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  B —  have  been  married  19  years. 
They  are  of  German  parentage.  Mr.  B —  came  to  the  United 
States  29  years  ago; 'Mrs.  B.  25  years  ago.  Mr.  B —  left  the 
factory  on  June  24th  last  (1911),  when  he  was  so  leaded  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  work.  He  was  with  the  company  for 
seventeen  months.  His  work  during  most  of  this  time  was  "  har- 
dening magnetos,"  a  process  which  consists  of  plunging  the  piece 
of  steel  into  molten  lead,  heated  to  a  very  high  temperature  (he 
says  over  1,400  degrees),  holding  the  magneto  in  the  hot  lead  for 
a  few  seconds,  and  then  taking  it  out  and  plunging  it  into  a  barrel 
of  water.  While  standing  over  the  fumes  one  inhales  them,  both 
through  the  mouth  and  nose.  Mr.  B — 's  teeth  are  spoiled 
and  his  gums  are  in  a  bad  condition.  During  the  first  12  months 


460  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

of  this  work  he  was  in  a  large  upstairs  room,  where  there  were 
many  windows,  and  these  were  all  kept  open,  and  where  the  work 
was  done  with  gas,  not  lead.  At  that  time  he  said  he  had  no 
trouble,  but  later  when  this  work  was  moved  downstairs  into  a 
.smaller  room,  where  there  was  practically  no  ventilation,  several 
of  the  workers  experienced  severe  attacks  of  lead  poisoning  —  one 
of  the  victims,  he  thinks,  is  dying.  When  he  felt  the  effects  of  the 
lead  he  asked  for  other  work  —  he  then  tried  matching  magnetos 
together,  but  this  kept  him  in  the  same  room,  and  his  arms  were 
soon  in  such  a  condition  that  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  use 
them. 

His  attack  commenced  with  vomiting  —  now  his  wrists  and 
hands  are  almost  useless.  After  he  left,  some  exhaust  pipes  were 
put  in,  but  he  thinks  they  are  not  giving  satisfaction.  He  has 
Improved  much,  so  that  he  now  holds  a  position  as  night  watch- 
man. He  is  on  duty  from  5  p.  m.  to  7  a.  m.,  but  says  he  can  sit 
quietly  most  of  the  time.  For  this  he  receives  $2  per  night ; 
,when  employed  by  the  magneto  company  he  received  $2.50  per 
.day,  a  nine  hour  day,  working  six  days  a  week,  with  the  exception 
of  the  hottest  weather,  when  the  plant  was  closed  on  Saturday 
afternoons.  Twice  he  has  been  back  to  the  company  since  he 
left,  to  see  if  they  would  do  anything  for  him.  He  hoped  they 
would  make  him  a  loan,  and  that  he  could  work  it  out  later.  They 
,told  him  there  was  no  use  in  his  coming  there  if  he  could  not 
work.  He  showed  them  his  condition  —  they  told  him  he  ought 
not  to  have  come  there  to  work  at  all  if  he  could  not  stand  it. 
He  says  he  was  in  good  health  before  this  —  that  he  weighed  194 
pounds  when  he  went  to  work  in  the  factory;  now  he  weighs  154 
pounds.  He  smokes  a  pipe  after  his  meals,  but  uses  tobacco  in 
no  other  form.  He  drank  some  beer  occasionally  with  his  lunch, 
but  has  no  money  for  beer  now.  While  he  was  employed  in  the 
factory  they  allowed  him  one-half  hour  for  lunch ;  this  was  brought 
to  him  from  home,  and  was  sometimes  hot.  He  ate  outside,  sit- 
ting on  the  ground  against  the  fence.  He  has  no  trade,  and  has 
never  been  employed  in  connection  with  lead  at  any  other  time 
in  his  life.  For  three  months  previous  to  the  period  of  his  em- 
ployment with  the  magneto  company  he  was  employed  in  driving 
a  coal  truck. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  461 

Case  No.  21.—  William  D—: 

I) —  was  born  in  1875,  and  his  wife  in  1876.  They  have 
six  children,  from  three  weeks  to  ten  years  of  age.  Mrs.  D — 
has  had  no  miscarriages.  During  the  time  that  he  was  employed 
at  the  lead  works  he  earned  $15  per  week.  Previous  to  his  em- 
ployment at  the  magneto  factory  he  was  for  almost  two  years  in 
positions  where.he  came  more  or  less  in  contact  with  lead.  For  a 
couple  of  weeks  before  getting  this  job  he  was  a  sealer  on  a 
railroad  where  he  used  lead  solder.  However,  the  conditions  were 
sanitary,  ventilation  ample  when  working  indoors.  He  had  no 
effects  from  the  lead  whatever.  Previous  to  this  he  was  em- 
ployed as  a  foreman  in  a  metal  working  factory,  where  he  had 
about  18  men  under  him. 

He  smokes  and  drinks  occasionally  and  uses  whiskey  when  he 
feels  like  it.  He  is  not  a  hard  drinker.  He  wore  a  mustache  at 
the  time  of  the  interview.  He  was  evidently  in  a  weakened  con- 
dition and  showed  a  trace  of  the  lead  line ;  his  complexion  was  sal- 
low and  his  face  and  fingers  thin. 

D —  went  to  work  in  the  magneto  factory  early  in  March, 
1911.  He  was  put  to  work  in  the  hardening  room,  where  his 
work  consisted  of  putting  bent  bars  of  steel  into  a  bath  of  molten 
lead.  There  were  five  lead  pots  in  the  room,  which  were  heated 
to  different  temperatures  according  to  the  temper  desired. 
After  having  been  heated  a  sufficient  length  of  time,  he  would 
remove  the  red  hot  bars  from  the  bath  of  molten  lead,  pass  them 
over  to  another  man,  who  immersed  them  in  a  barrel  of  water, 
which  stood  nearby.  They  were  then  passed  on  to  a  third  man, 
who  tested  them  by  knocking  sharply  on  them  with  a  steel  rod. 
Another  man  rubbed  them  vigorously  after  they  had  been  piled 
one  upon  another  about  a  wooden  tree,  in  order  to  remove  any 
remaining  particles.  When  D —  first  went  to  work  here  there 
were  no  hoods  over  the  lead  pots,  such  as  are  to  be  seen  in  photo- 
graph aSTo.  61.  In  fact,  lie  helped  to  put  up  these  hoodis.  The 
room  in  which  the  work  was  done  is  a  long,  low  room,  a  sort  of  a 
shed,  slightly  below  the  surface  of  the  ground.  It  is  about  sixty 
feet  long  and  about  eight  feet  wide.  There  are  four  windows, 
about  five  feet  by  three,  along  one  side.  There  is  a  fan  near  the 


462  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISKASKS. 

ceiling  at  one  end,  and  an  opening  at  the  other.  The  roof  is 
raised  about  one  foot  to  let  out  the  air.  On  the  whole,  however, 
on  account  of  the  intense  heat,  the  furnaces,  oil-fed  under  1 1 
pounds  pressure,  varying  from  1,400-1,800  degress,  the  room  wa= 
poorly  ventilated. 

D —  was  not  warned  of  any  dangers  in  connection  with  the 
work.  In  fact,  when  other  men  became  ill,  he  was  told  that  their 
illness  was  caused  by  the  heat. 

.  Although  he  shortly  began  to  feel  ill,  he  declared  that  he  had 
never  let  a  job  get  the  best  of  him  before,  and  he  decided  to  stick 
to  it.  This  he  did.  He  also  states  that  he  hoped  for  promotion, 
.which  was  held  out  to  him.  Early  in  June  he  was  taken  sick  and 
.remained  at  home  for  a  day  and  a  half.  He  could  keep  nothing 
in  his  stomach  and  had  severe  cramps.  He  returned  to  work  and 
was  put  on  a  different  job  for  a  couple  of  days,  but  when  he  was 
slightly  better  he  was  again  sent  to  the  lead  pots.  He  tried  an- 
other week,  and  then  he  was  laid  up  with  another  very  severe  attack 
which  lasted  a  week.  The  symptoms  were  the  same.  The  ordi- 
nary remedies  which  he  secured  at  the  druggists  were  of  no  avail. 
He  had  not  consulted  a  doctor.  At  the  end  of  this  week  he 
returned  to  work,  but  stayed  at  it  only  a  day  and  a  half,  when  he 
was  forced  to  leave  on  account  of  his  condition  (July  6,  1911). 
Meanwhile  he  had  informed  himself  of  the  nature  of  his  disease 
and  decided  to  leave  before  getting  any  worse.  He  then  con- 
sulted a  doctor,  who  confirmed  his  belief  that  he  had  lead  poison- 
ing. When  D —  entered  the  job  he  weighed  about  180  pounds; 
when  he  left,  scarcely  four  months  later,  he  weighed  128  pounds.  He 
had  a  distinct  and  heavy  lead  line  on  the  gums;  was  weak  and 
unable  to  do  any  effective  work.  Until  September  29th  he  was 
unemployed,  largely  because  his  physical  condition  made  it  im- 
possible. He  then  went  to  work  in  some  brick  work,  which  he 
found  so  difficult  that  he  had  to  give  it  up.  He  is  now  doing  odd 
jobs,  such  as  insurance  collector;  because  of  this  illness  he  has 
failed  to  get  a  job  as  a  waiter,  because  his  appearance  led  peoplo 
to  believe  he  had  consumption. 

Mr.  D —  is  a  man  of  evidently  more  than  usual  mental 
calibre,  and  knows  what  he  is  talking  about.  His  testimony  was 
straight  and  concise. 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  463 

Case  No.  22.—  Willis  W—: 

An  American,  of  native  parentage,  he  was  born  in  1863.  Dur- 
ing his  young  manhood  he  followed  the  sea.  Later  he  gave  up 
climbing  masts  and  halyards  and  climbed  the  frames  of  great  steel 
buildings.  He  began  as  a  structural  iron  worker  in  those  days 
when  structural  iron  workers  made  only  $2.75  per  day.  In  the 
spring  of  1910  he  became  mate  on  a  little  tug  boat  plying  the 
Harlem  river,  and  from  this  job,  early  in  April,  he  went  to  work 
for  the  magneto  factory.  His  work  there  was  in  the  hardening 
room,  where  he  put  the  steel  magnetos  into  a  bath  of  molten  lead, 
and  when  they  were  white-hot,  withdrew  them  and  plunged  them 
into  a  barrel  of  water.  From  the  first  he  recognized  the  dangers 
and  guarded  against  them.  He  took  epsom  salts  every  other  day. 
In  spite  of  his  precautions  he  lost  weight,  falling  from  212  pounds 
to  174;  he  also  lost  his  appetite.  Early  in  July  he  was  taken 
with  severe  pains  in  the  lower  part  of  the  abdomen  and  went  home 
for  half  a  day.  After  two  or  three  weeks  he  had  another  attack, 
this  time  very  much  more  severe,  and  he  remained  at  home  and  in 
bed  for  3^  days.  He  then  went  back  to  work  for  only  a  few 
days.  He  was  not  entirely  incapacitated,  but  was  considerably 
weakened.  In  fact  when  the  investigator  saw  him  some  six 
months  later  he  had  only  partially  recovered  his  weight  and  vigor. 

Before  his  attacks  W —  helped  to  erect  hoods  which  now  pro- 
tect these  pots,  and  also  to  put  in  the  exhaust  ventilating  fan 
and  to  raise  the  roof.  These  changes  bettered  conditions  but  did 
not  by  any  means  eliminate  the  danger. 

W —  received  no  pay  for  this  time  he  was  ill  and  was  later 
refused  a  job  at  anything  other  than  the  lead  pots. 

Case  No.  28. —  James  C — : 

A  young  Irishman,  33  years  of  age,  was  out  with  his  eight- 
months-old  daughter  and  his  four-year-old  son  when  the  inspector 
came  upon  him.  He  still  showed  marked  effects  of  lead  poison- 
ing, and  his  fairly  big  frame  looked  gaunt  and  thin,  and  he  was 
slightly  stooped.  His  wife,  an  enthusiastic,  bright  and  jolly  per- 
son, joined  us  and  helped  out  with  accurate  dates  and  figures. 


464  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

C-  -  was  formerly  employed  as  an  inspector  of  meat  in  one 
of  the  big  packing  houses,  but  left  that  job  after  a  severe  attack 
of  blood  poisoning,  caused  by  a  scratch  from  a  rotten  ham  bone. 
He  then  found  employment,  in  the  spring  of  1909,  in  the  magneto 
factory.  He  was  employed  as  a  hardener ;  the  process  used  was  a 
gas  one,  and  although  there  was  one  small  lead  pot,  it  was  only 
used  occasionally,  and^then  only  for  warming  the  metal.  In 
December,  however,  the  process  was  changed,  and  five  lead  pots 
,were  installed,  in  which  the  magnetos  were  heated  to  a  white  heat 
and  then  dashed  into  a  barrel  of  water.  The  place  selected  was  a 
low  half-basement  shed,  with  few  windows  and  no  ventilators. 
C — 's  job  was  to  put  the  magnetos  in  the  lead  and  then  remove 
.them.  The  pots  at  that  time  were  unhooded.  He  worked  on  this 
job  from  December  13th  to  April  15th.  During  this  time  he  lost 
weight  steadily ;  pains  in  the  abdomen  were  constant,  his  face  took 
on  a  yellowish  hue,  and  his  gums  exhibited  a  marked  blue  line. 
Finally  he  was  forced  to  go  to  bed,  and  his  physician  at  once  pro- 
nounced it  lead  poisoning.  He  was  out  of  work  for  H1/^  weeks, 
and  his  doctor's  bills,  medicines  and  special  expenses  amounted 
to  about  $75.  He  received  no  compensation,  nor  were  his  bills  or 
lost  wages  paid.  His  wages  at  this  job  had  been  $15  per  week 
and  he  had  worked  54  hours  per  week.  During  that  time  he  had 
also  put  in  considerable  overtime.  After  his  illness  he  went  back 
to  the  magneto  company,  where  he  was  given  a  job  at  the  same 
wages  he  had  been  earning  before  that  time. 

Case  No.  24  —  William  C — : 

A  "furnace  man,"  making  red  and  yellow  oxides  of  lead,  is 
William  C — .  Since  the  beginning  of  last  March  he  has  had 
three  separate  attacks  of  lead  poisoning. 

,  The  first  of  these  attacks  was  in  March,  and  lasted  one  week; 
the  second  began  in  April,  and  lasted  five  weeks ;  and  the  third  in 
November,  cost  him  two  weeks  —  eight  weeks  in  all  lost  in  less 
than  a  year,  due  to  an  almost  wholly,  if  not  quite,  preventible 
industrial  disease.  The  symptoms  each  time  were  about  the  same. 
They  included  cramps  in  the  abdomen,  weight  on  chest,  vomiting 
and  partial  paralysis  of  the  wrist. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  465 

C —  was  born  in  Lithuania  in  1877.  His  parents  were 
.Lithuanian  Catholics.  He  worked  there  for  some  years  as  a  farm 
,hand  and  later  as  a  railroad  section  laborer,  and  in  February, 
1904,  migrated  to  America.  For  four  years  and  a  month  from 
that  date  he  worked  for  the  A —  S —  and  C —  Co.  on  J —  street, 
Brooklyn,  lugging  sugar  and  coffee  on  the  company's  docks. 
He  received  $10  for  from  60  to  72  hours  work  per  week,  the 
day  varying  from  10  to  12  hours,  with  1  hour  for  lunch.  From 
5  to  10  weeks  were  lost  yearly  through  slack  time,  and  once  he  was 
,out  11  weeks  with  a  foot  crushed  by  dropping  a  heavy  plank  on 
it  —  but  had  no  other  disability  resulting  from  his  work. 

Between  March,  1908,  and  October,  1910,  C —  was  a  dock 
worker  for  the  W —  S —  Co.  in  Brooklyn,  and  sometimes  in  New 
York.  Here  his  time  was  much  more  irregular,  so  that,  counting 
up  the  days  and  half  days,  he  lost  about  20  weeks  per  year.  While 
the  day's  work  was  supposed  to  be  set  at  10  hours,  sometimes  he 
could  put  in  no  more  than  that  in  a  whole  week  —  other  weeks, 
again,  he  put  in  60.  His  pay  thus  ran  from  $3  to  $18  per  week. 
Xo  illness  was  reported  for  this  period. 

Finally,  being  laid  off  on  the  docks,  he  was  taken  on  at  the  red  lead 
or  lead  oxide  works,  where  he  now  is.  His  work  is  to  place  the  lead 
pigs,  weighing  from  105  to  150  pounds,  in  the  furnace  and  rake 
them  over  at  regular  intervals  until  the  proper  degree  of  oxidation 
,has  been  reached,  when  he  removes  the  red  and  yellow  powder. 
(See  photos  29,  30  and  31.)  This  is  a  very  dusty  part  of  the 
work,  and  it  did  not  take  the  worker  long  to  get  "  leaded  "  at  it. 
.There  are  two  shifts  on  this  work,  which  alternate  weekly.  On 
the  day  shift  the  men  do  10  hours  daily,  or  58  in  the  week.  The 
night  shift  is  13  hours,  making  78  in  the  week.  On  the  day  shift 
the  pay  comes  out  to  $12  a  week ;  at  night  to  $19.60.  One  hour  is 
given,  C —  says,  for  dinner.  He  has  lost  no  time  through  slack 
work,  but  the  above-mentioned  eight  weeks  through  illness. 

C-  -  is  single.  Instructions  were  given  him,  he  says,  when 
he  went  into  the  lead  works.  He  was  told  to  wash  carefully,  keep 
out  of  the  dust  all  he  could,  and  keep  his  finger  nails  clean.  There 
were  no  warnings  posted  in  the  plant,  according  to  him.  In  the 
jnorning  he  usually  had  no  appetite  and  made  a  meagre  breakfast 
on  a  cup  or  two  of  coffee.  He  doesn't  smoke  or  chew,  but  takes 


466  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

three  or  four  glasses  of  beer  every  day ;  rarely  a  glass  of  whiskey. 
He  is  in  the  habit  of  eating  in  the  work-room,  first  washing  his 
hands  in  cold  water.  He  changes  all  his  outer  clothing  in  the 
shop.  He  recommends  hot  and  cold  water  in  the  factory,  wash- 
rooms, lockers,  and  a  doctor ;  beyond  these  he  has  no  suggestions  for 
protective  measures. 

Case  No.  25. —  Michael  K — : 

K —  has  been  in  this  country  five  years  and  practically  all 
this  time  has  been  employed  as  a  furnace  man  at  the  lead  oxide 
works.  In  that  time  he  has  had  no  less  than  ten  attacks  of  lead 
poisoning,  the  first  one  in  1908,  two  years  after  taking  up  the 
work,  and  the  last  only  a  week  or  two  ago,  in  December,  1911. 
This  last  attack  kept  him  seven  days  from  work ;  the  others  kept 
him  out  from  two  days  to  two  weeks. 

K —  is  a  Lithuanian  Catholic,  born  in  1885.  From  1899 
until  1906  he  worked  on  his  father's  land,  tending  the  crops  and 
taking  care  of  the  livestock.  In  November  of  1906  he  thought  to 
better  his  fortunes  and  set  sail  for  America. 

,  T.he  first  job  he  took  was  that  of  furnace  man,  raking  hot  pigs 
of  lead  over  and  over  until  they  were  properly  oxidized  for  lead 
litharge  and  red  lead.  He  works  one  week  by  night  and  one  week 
by  day,  doing  thirteen  hours  daily  on  the  former,  ten  on  the  lat- 
ter. On  night  work  his  pay  is  $17.16,  on  the  day  shift  only 
,$11.60.  One  hour  is  allowed  for  lunch. 

,  For  the  first  year  and  a  half  the  work  was  uninterrupted.  Then 
came  a  lull,  and,  to  fill  in,  K —  took  work  as  a  dock  laborer  with 
the  A —  S —  and  C —  Co.,  which  has  a  large  plant  on  the  Brooklyn 
water  front  at  Jay  street.  His  time  here  was  very  irregular, 
varying  from  8  to  16  hours  per  day,  and  his  pay  only  averaged 
about  $10  per  week.  Work  at  the  lead  factory  picking  up  again, 
he  left  the  docks  before  the  month  was  over,  returned  to  his 
furnaces  in  July,  1907,  and  has  been  there  ever  since  —  except 
for  his  ten  attacks  of  plumbism. 

His  symptoms  he  describes  as  pains  and  weight  on  the  stomach, 
headaches  and  cramps  in  the  knees.  Four  years  ago  he  weighed 
185,  now  165.  He  is  a  tall,  fine-looking  young  fellow,  however, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  407 

and  does  nut  show  any  visible  signs  of  illness.  He  married  in 
,3910  and  has  one  child,  a  boy,  who  is  plump  but  pallid.  His  wife 
^kides  him  for  staying  in  the  lead  works,  saying  "  he's  sick  all 
the  time,"  but  he  replies  that  is  all  he  knows  how  to  do.  and  must 
stick  at  it  if  they  are  not  all  to  suffer. 

He  says  the  foreman  at  the  works  warned  him  of  the  dangers 
and  gave  him  careful  instructions  for  self -protection.  He  also 
,Niys  that  there  were  signs  tacked  up  in  the  factory,  but  none  in 
.Lithuanian,  which  is  the  only  language  he  can  read.  His  break- 
fast usually  consists  of  coffee  and  bread.  He  smokes  about  four 
cigarettes  daily  and  drinks  from  two  to  five  glasses  of  beer.  He 
frequently  eats  in  the  work-room,  but  sometimes  comes  home  to 
dinner.  He  washes  his  hands  in  cold  water  before  meals.  All 
Jiis  outer  clothes,  even  to  the  shoes,  are  changed  before  he  starts 
.work  in  the  factory  ;  he  wears  a  mustache,  but  no  beard. 

Wash-rooms,  hot  and  cold  water,  lockers,  and  a  doctor  aie  the 
extent  of  the  precautions  in  the  shops  as  he  described  them. 

Case  No.  26.— Walter  C—: 

Another  European  farm,  laborer,  attracted  to  America  by  dreams 
pf  wealth,  only  to  take  up  work  in  a  lead  factory  and  come  near 
finishing  his  career  through  plumbism,  is  Walter  C — . 

C —  was  found  living  with  friends  on  the  top  floor  of  a  house 
only  two  blocks  away  from  the  work  which  nearly  finished  him. 
,  He  was  born  of  Catholic  parents  in  Poland  in  1886,  worked  a 
few  years  there  as  a  farm  hand,  and  in  1910  emigrated  to  America. 
At  once,  in  April  of  that  year,  he  became  an  employee  of  the  lead 
company  and  worked  there  until  June,  1910,  as  a  furnaceman's 
helper.  After  the  lead  pigs  had  been  oxidized  to  the  chrome 
yellow  stage  by  the  furnaceman,  the  latter  would  draw  or  rake  out 
of  the  furnace  the  oxidized  mass  (see  photo  No.  31)  and  C — 
would  assist  in  this  process  and  then  wheel  the  stuff  away  on  a 
wheelbarrow  to  the  next  process,  that  of  crushing  and  grinding. 
His  pay  at  this  dangerous  and  dusty  job  was  $9  per  week  of  59 
hours,  with  only  one-half  hour  for  dinner.  From  April  to  June 
this  work  was  steady,  but  on  the  24th  of  the  latter  month  C — 
fell  violently  ill  and  wa?  taken  to  the  Brooklyn  General  Hospital. 


468  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

,  The  diagnosis  was  promptly  one  of  chronic  lead  poisoning.  The 
worker's  symptoms  were  violent  cramps,  weight  on  the  chest,  in- 
cipient wrist  drop,  partial  paralysis  of  the  ankles  and  legs,  loss  of 
appetite,  with  blue  line  on  the  gums  prominent.  For  a  week  and 
a  half  he  remained  in  the  hospital  under  treatment,  and  on  July 
4th,  1910,  was  discharged,  "  condition  improved."  The  extent  of 
the  improvement  was  that  he  was  able  to  go  home,  where  for  six 
months  longer,  or  until  January,  1911,  he  lay  in  bed  or  about  the 
house,  too  debilitated  to  work  a  stroke.  In  this  period  his  weight 
fell  from  150  to  120  pounds.  He  has  now  recovered  flesh  to  about 
140  pounds. 

,  To  this  recovery  the  nature  of  his  present  work  has  largely  con- 
tributed. Like  many  other  men  poisoned  in  this  same  plant,  upon 
recovery  he  became  a  longshoreman  on  the  Brooklyn  docks.  This 
strenuous  out-door  occupation  helps  to  eliminate  the  lead  by  toning 
up  the  condition  of  the  body.  His  work  is  very  unsteady,  one  day 
Jie  may  work  12  hours,  the  next  none  at  all.  His  hours  per  week 
run  from  40  down  to  8,  and  his  pay  slides  in  proportion  from  $10 
to  $2.  One  slight  compensation  is  that  he  now  has  a  full  hour 
for  dinner. 

C —  is  unmarried.  He  says  no  instructions  were  given  him 
concerning  the  dangers  of  the  work  in  the  lead  works  nor  were  any 
notices  to  a  similar  effect  displayed.  Coffee  and  bread  made  his 
customary  breakfast.  He  used  no  tobacco  whatsoever  and  drinks 
pnly  one  glass  of  beer  daily,  with  a  meal.  He  used  to  eat  in  the 
work-room,  first  washing  in  cold  water.  His  clothes  he  changed 
at  home;  he  wears  a  mustache,  but  no  beard.  Cold  water  and  the 
doctor  are  the  only  precautions  he  knows  of  the  factory  taking  for 
its  men ;  he  thinks  respirators  are  sadly  needed. 

Case  No.  27. —  James  P — : 

Native  American,  born  about  1865,  has  been  a  glass  cutter  all 
his  working  life,  about  28  years.  Had  his  attack  of  lead  poisoning 
.while  working  for  a  cut  glass  concern  in  Brooklyn,  a  firm  now 
out  of  business.  There  his  job  consisted  of  cleaning  the  cut  glass 
with  a  putty  and  with  a  finely  powdered  mixture  of  lead  and  zinc, 
probably  lead  litharge  and  zinc  carbonate  or  zinc  oxide.  This 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  469 

process  is  exceedingly  dangerous  'and  has  since  been  replaced  by 
an  acid  bath.  In  all  he  worked  for  this  concern  about 
22  years.  Twenty  years  ago  he  had  his  first  attack  of 
lead  poisoning,  and  was  out  of  work  three  weeks.  Two  years  later 
he  had  another  attack,  and  was  again  out  of  work  for  three  weeks. 
Three  years  later  he  had  the  third  attack,  and  the  last  one.  This 
was  eight  years  ago.  He  was  sick  at  this  time  eight  weeks.  On 
this  last  occasion,  however,  he  was  operated  on  for  appendicitis. 
Whether  or  not  he  actually  had  appendicitis  is  something  that  can- 
not be  definitely  decided,  although  the  doctor  who  operated  states 
that  such  was  the  case.  Before  the  last  attack  he  decreased  in 
weight  from  150  to  95  pounds.  He  is  still  employed  in  the  same 
line  of  industry  and  is  engaged  in  the  ordinary  glass  cutting. 
In  this  establishment  there  is  little  putty  used  and  the  old  polish- 
ing process  is  not  used  at  all.  He  is  now  in  good  health  and  has 
experienced  no  permanent  effects. 

Case  No.  28. —  Frank  8 — : 

,  Was  born  in  Naples  in  1871,  of  Italian  parents,  and  came  to 
.this  country  at  the  age  of  twenty-four.  He  has  worked  at  several 
.different  trades  but  never  at  any  where  lead  was  used  until  he 
entered  a  dry  color  factory  in  Brooklyn.  There  he  remained  for  a 
year,  leaving  to  work  on  the  docks  in  Jersey  City  for  two  years. 
He  then  returned  to  the  same  color  factory,  where  he  contracted 
lead  poisoning  after  working  there  three  months.  The  exact  pro- 
cess he  performed  he  described  as  grinding  chunks  of  red  color, 
somewhat  as  one  would  grind  coffee,  which,  of  course,  is  the  grind- 
ing of  dry  colors.  The  men,  he  says,  were  aware  of  the  danger 
,and  held  wet  sponges  to  their  faces ;  but  they  were  never  told  of 
the  dangers  by  the  employer,  neither  were  any  instructions  posted. 
.They  were  required  to  work  10  hours  per  day,  with  only  a  half 
tour  for  luncheon,  which  had  to  be  eaten  in  the  work-room.  That 
the  same  dangers  were  common  to  all  may  be  judged  by  the  fact 
,that  he  says  that  as  many  as  one  man  a  week  was  attacked,  whita 
the  foreman,  after  working  there  for  20  years,  finally  died  of  the 
disease. 

,  The  owner  and  manager  of  this  factory  stated  to  the  Commission 
,that  no  case  of  lead  poisoning  had  occurred  in  this  place  during 
the  last  ten  years. 


470  OcrrpATioNAi.  DISEASES. 


Mr.  S  —  is  smooth  shaven,  of  medium  height  and  though  he 
seems  to  feel  no  permanent  ill  effects  from  his  attack  of  lead  poi- 
soning, however  he  has  not  returned  to  the  factory.  He  smokes  a 
pipe  a  great  deal  and  drinks  moderately.  Very  often  he  went  to 
the  factory  with  only  a  glass  of  wine  for  his  breakfast. 

Case  No.  29.—  William  H—: 

Is  a  native  of  Ireland  —  born  there  in  1860.  He  emigrated  to 
the  United  States  in  1874.  For  35  years  he  has  been  more  or  less 
in  contact  with  lead  —  usually  employed  as  a  smelter,  melter  or 
caster  of  lead  and  other  metals.  He  has  been  employed  for  24 
years  with  one  concern  and  worked  with  G  —  and  C  —  (cases 
Nbs.  32  and  37)  at  the  same  factory  when  it  was  located  in 
another  part  of  the  city.  Both  of  these  men  died  of  lead  poi- 
soning. H  —  ,  however,  claims  that  he  was  not  affected  at  that 
time.  He  continued  at  this  work  as  a  melter  and  caster  of  solder 
(mostly  lead)  until  he  lost  the  use  of  his  hands,  with  double  wrist 
drop.  H  —  has  been  to  a  number  of  doctors,  who  do  not  seem  to 
agree  as  to  what  is  the  matter  with  him,  nor  have  they  succeeded 
in  improving  him  very  much.  His  wrists  have  been  in  this  con- 
dition for  about  eight  years,  and  have  improved  slightly,  although 
he  is  greatly  handicapped.  The  factory  people  have  given  him  a 
job  as  night  watchman,  and  that  job  he  has  held  for  eight  years. 

He  smokes  a  pipe,  drinks  considerably,  and  wears  a  rather 
heavy  moustache. 

Case  No.  30.  —  Joe  B  —  : 

Came  to  the  United  States  in  1907.  He  is  a  Lithuanian,  about 
28  years  of  age.  Before  coming  he  was  a  farmer.  He  first  found 
employment  in  a  machine  shop  in  Newark,  and  later  in  a  dye  fac- 
tory at  Worcester,  Mass.,  where  he  received  from  $9  to  $14  per 
week,  and  worked  10  hours  per  day.  He  came  to  work  for  a  dry 
color  concern  on  January  21,  1911.  He  worked  steadily  until 
the  middle  of  August,  when  he  had  an  attack  of  lead  poisoning. 
The  attack  was  not  very  severe,  but  he  was  out  of  work  on  that 
account  for  three  weeks.  Since  that  time  he  has  worked  at  the 
same  place  and  the  same  job  with  the  exception  of  slight  attacks 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISI:ASI->.  471 

which  have  kept  him  out  of  work  on  two  occasions  for  two  days 
each.  Severe  abdominal  pains  seem  to  be  practically  the  only 
effects  of  lead  poisoning  in  his  case. 

In  spite  of  the  statement  made  by  the  superintendent  that  they 
had  had  no  cases  of  lead  poisoning  in  the  last  40  years,  B — 
has  had  lead  poisoning  —  perhaps  without  the  knowledge  of  the 
concern.  His  work  has  been  of  a  rather  dangerous  character. 
He  has  been  employed  in  the  color-mixing  and  grinding  room. 
His  work  consists  of  shoveling  the  various  paint  pigments  into 
the  grinding  machine  and  then  mixing  and  stirring  the  ground 
pigments.  (See  photos  40  and  41.)  The  room  in  which  he 
works  is  very  poorly  ventilated,  having  only  small  windows,  and 
not.  many  of  those,  and  the  system  of  ventilation  is  not  a  localized 
one  and  therefore  does  not  convey  dust  from  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  workmen.  Very  often  workers  are  required  to 
clean  out  the  bins  in  which  the  colors  have  been  put.  This  is 
an  extremely  dusty  process,  as  it  necessarily  means  stooping  over 
the  low  bins,  and  clouds  of  dust  rise  in  their  faces  as  they  brush 
out  the  contents. 

For  this  work  B —  receives  $1.85  per  day,  working  10  hours. 

As  far  as  the  writer  could  learn  he  had  been  given  no  instruc- 
tions whatever  as  to  proper  precautions  to  take.  He  was  not  pro- 
vided with  any  respirator  or  other  protection  against  dust  and 
lead.  Half  an  hour  is  allowed  for  lunch,  which  in  many  cases  is 
eaten  in  the  work-room.  B —  uses  tobacco  a  little,  drinks  some 
beer  and  usually  has  a  glass  of  whiskey  each  morning.  When 
the  inspector  called,  on  Sunday,  he  was  eating  his  lunch.  His 
hands  were  covered  with  the  paint  in  which  the  inspector  had  seen 
him  working  a  few  days  before.  He  works  about  two  Sundays  in 
each  month.  His  brother,  who  lives  in  the  same  house  with  him,  is 
a  worker  at  the  same  factory  and  is  also  affected  by  lead  poisoning 
and  is  out  of  work  often. 

B —  related  that  very  often  the  room  in  which  he  works  be- 
comes so  dusty,  as  he  expressed  it,  "  You  can't  see  a  man  an  inch 
away."  He  does  not  talk  English  very  well,  although  he  grasped 
most  of  the  questions  put  him.  He  is  intelligent  and  knows  that 
others  of  the  men  have  had  similar  attacks  and  mentioned  a  man 
who  was  at  the  moment  dying.  He  did  not  know  the  name  and 
address. 


472  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Case  No.  31.—  Mitchell  C — : 

,  A  solder  caster,  now  employed  in  a  smelting  and  refining  place, 
is  subject  to  attacks  of  lead  colic,  accompanied  by  pains  in  his 
arms.  He  left  his  native  England  and  came  to  New  York  in 
,1886.  His  parents  were  natives  of  Ireland.  He  was  married  in 
.1900. 

In  1891  C —  commenced  working  with  the  Blank  Smelting 
and  Kefining  Co.,  where  he  remained  for  ten  years.  His  work 
was  tending  the  furnace,  shoveling  dross,  tending  lead  kettles  and 
casting  solder.  He  considers  tending  the  furnace  the  work  which 
affords  the  greatest  chance  for  becoming  poisoned.  Yet  he  often 
ifinds,  when  tending  the  lead  kettle  and  casting  solder,  the  draft 
forces  the  particles  of  lead  all  through  the  air  he  is  breathing.  He 
,had  attacks  of  lead  colic  while  in  the  employ  of  this  company.  He 
went  from  the  Blank  Smelting  Co.  to  J —  B — ,  smelters  and  re- 
finers, for  about  four  months  —  then  to  T —  &  Co.,  smelters  and 
refiners.  After  one  year  at  this  place  he  went  to  the  W —  Smelt- 
ing Co.,  then  back  to  J —  B —  for  one  year  —  returned  to  the  W— 
Works  for  about  one  year  —  to  J —  B —  for  six  months,  and  then 
to  his  present  position  with  W —  B — .  In  nearly  all  of  these 
places  he  has  done  the  three  kinds  of  work  previously  mentioned, 
though  solder-casting  is  his  usual  work. 

He  has  suffered  from  attacks  of  lead  colic  while  under  the 
employ  of  each  company  with  the  exception  of  T —  &  Co., 
where  he  thinks  the  factory  is  in  good  condition.  At  W— 
B — ,  the  drafts  are  bad,  on  account  of  doors  being  open  for  ship- 
pers. There  are  hoods  over  the  lead  kettles,  but  many  times  these 
avail  nothing,  since  the  back  draft  brings  the  oxidized  particles  of 
lead  back  into  his  face.  He  would  have  some  means  of  ventilating 
the  work-room  and  of  hindering  the  improper  drafts.  He  thinks, 
,also,  that  lunch-rooms  are  necessary  for  all  such  shops.  No  in- 
structions concerning  dangers  of  work  are  given,  or  posted.  Tnere 
are  clothes-rooms,  which  are  used.  He  always  removes  his  work 
clothes  before  leaving  the  shop.  He  is  careful  about  washing, 
using  hot  water  and  soap.  He  has  food  brought  in  which  he 
cooks  and  eats  there  in  the  work-room.  He  usually  wears  a  mus- 
tache, but  had  it  removed  at  one  time,  to  see  if  attacks  of  lead 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  473 

colic  would  be  less  frequent.  He  thinks  there  was  no  difference. 
,He  eats  no  breakfast  before  leaving  home,  —  but  drinks  a  cup  of 
.coffee.  He  has  no  appetite  for  food  at  that  time.  He  uses  about 
,ten  cigars  in  a  day  and  a  half,  but  practically  no  alcoholic  drink. 
JrTe  has  never  lost  time  from  being  unemployed.  From  illness  he 
loses  two  or  three  days  each  time.  At  W— -  B —  he  receives 
,$18  per  week  of  57  hours.  He  works  9^4  hours  each  day  ex- 
cept Saturday,  which  is  an  eight-hour  day.  He  is  allowed  three- 
fourths  of  an  hour  for  lunch.  At  all  other  places  his  usual  wage 
.has  been  $14  per  week  of  58  hours  —  a  ten-hour  day  with  one-half 
jbour  for  lunch,  and  eight  hours  of  work  on  Saturday. 

Case  No.  32. — Patrick  C — : 

A  brother  of  Mitchell  and  John  C — ,  Patrick  is  also  a  solder- 
caster.  He  came  to  New  York  city  from  England  in  1886  with 
the  brother  Mitchell. 

,  He  was  married  in  1908.  There  are  no  children.  His  and 
,his  wife's  ages  are  respectively  thirty-four,  and  twenty-one  years. 
He  is  now  working  beside  his  brother  Mitchell  as  solder  caster 
for  W —  B — ,  and  has  been  there  for  the  last  six  years.  Before 
he  came  to  W —  B —  he  was  employed  by  J —  N —  J —  for  six 
months;  W —  S —  and  R —  Co.  for  two  years;  M —  S —  and 
R —  Co.  for  a  short  time ;  T —  and  Co.  for  two  years ;  J —  B — 
for  two  years;  X —  Smelting  and  Refining  Company  for  about 
two  years;  and  for  D —  B —  eight  years.  While  with  D —  B — 
he  lost  one  week  from  an  attack  of  lead  colic,  with  J —  B —  he 
lost  two  weeks  from  an  attack,  and  since  he  has  been  with  W — 
B —  he  has  lost  a  few  days  each  time  during  several  different 
attacks.  Pains  through  his  arms  and  elbows  accompany  the 
lead  colic.  He  had  nothing  to  add  to  what  his  brothers  had  said 
^n  regard  to  hours  or  wages,  conditions  in  the  shop  or  chances 
for  improvements.  He  is  careful  about  his  clothing  and  washing 
his  hands.  He  keeps  tobacco  in  his  mouth  while  he  is  working  — 
Jie  thinks  it  better  for  him  to  do  this.  He  smokes  cigarettes  most 
.of  the  time  when  he  is  away  from  his  work,  and  uses  about  three 
pints  of  beer  a  day.  He  seems  to  realize  the  dangers  of  poison 
from  the  lead  yet  he  wears  no  respirator  and  he  says  his  ex- 
pectoration is  often  as  black  as  ink. 


474  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Case  No.  S3.— John  C — : 

Solder  caster,  brother  of  Mitchell  C — ,  left  England  for  New 
York  city  two  years  earlier  than  his  brother,  in  18S4..  He  has 
followed  his  trade  continuously,  employed  at  different  times  by 
all  the  firms  which  have  employed  his  brother. 
,  He  is  a  single  man  forty-eight  years  of  age.  About  the  year 
1887  he  commenced  working  for  D —  B — ,  where  he  remained 
for  fourteen  years. 

In  1902  he  commenced  with  the  W —  S —  and  R —  Company 
where  he  remained  seven  years.  The  rest  of  the  time  between 
1901  and  1911  he  had  been  employed  for  more  or  less  short  periods 
by  the  following  companies:  J —  B — ,  D —  B — ,  W —  S —  Co.. 
W —  B — ,  and  T —  &  Co.  In  June,  1911,  he  was  employed  by 
W —  S —  and  R —  Co.,  but  was  obliged  to  give  up  just  be- 
fore Labor  Day  because  his  wrists  were  in  such  a  bad  condition. 
(The  superintendent  of  this  factory  says  he  hasn't  heard  of  a 
case  for  six  or  seven  years.)  He  felt  the  effect  of  lead  when 
he  was  with  W—  B —  in  1910,  also  when  with  T—  A:  Co.,  1910 
and  1911.  He  returned  to  the  W — Works  several  times  and 
tried  to  work,  but  found  it  impossible.  Since  September,  1911, 
he  has  been  totally  incapacitated  for  work  with  his  hand,  and  has 
been  unable  to  secure  work. 

For  improving  conditions  in  these  shops,  he  seems  to  be  able 
to  offer  no  suggestions  in  addition  to  those  offered  by  his  brother. 
He  said  he  had  always  been  careful,  and  used  every  precaution 
of  which  he  had  knowledge.  However  he  is  in  the  habit  of  us- 
ing two  or  three  packages  of  tobacco  a  week  "in  the  form  of 
a  pipe  "  and  occasionally  drinks  two  or  three  glasses  of  beer  a 
day.  At  present  he  wears  a  mustache.  His  wage  and  hours  were 
practically  the  same  as  those  of  his  brother  —  the  only  modifi- 
cation of  hours  being  a  seven-hour  day  on  Saturday  with  D— 
B — .  His  wage  was  $2.50  a  day. 

Case  No.  SJt.—  Patrick  C—: 

Died  BO  many  years  ago  that  it  may  seem  like  ancient  history 
to  narrate  his  case. 

He  came  to  the  United  States  about  1876,  and  married  shortly 
after,  and  was  the  father  of  three  children.  He  found  employ- 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  475 

ment  almost  immediately  with  T — ,  smelters  and  refiners  of 
metal  Here  he  worked  for  thirteen  years  over  the  pots  where 
lead  was  melted  and  later  poured  into  molds.  During  this  time 
he  was  subject  to  constant  attacks"  of  lead  poisoning  and  was 
home  sick  about  half  the  time.  Especially  during  the  last 
two  years  of  this  time  he  was  almost  incapacitated, —  he  had  a 
severe  case  of  wrist  drop  and  had  serious  swellings  in  the  legs. 
After  it  became  impossible  for  him  to  work  longer  at  the  melting 
pots,  he  was  given  a  job  as  watchman  at  the  factory,  which  he 
held  until  his  death,  three  years  later. 

The  factory  where  he  worked  has  been  torn  down  and  the  firm 
haa  removed  to  Jersey. 

C —  at  his  death  left  a  widow  and  three  children.  Mrs.  C — 
went  out  to  work  to  support  the  little  family.  The  men  of  the 
T —  shop  made  up  a  purse  of  $100  which  came  in  very  handily. 
The  firm,  however,  did  nothing  but  express  sympathy. 

C —  was  not  a  hard  drinker  —  smoked  some,  but  did  not  chew. 
He  earned  good  wages  and  was  careful  in  his  habits. 

Case  No.  35.—  Timothy  G-: 

Born  in  1865,  a  native  of  Ireland,  came  to  the  United  States 
in  1886.  He  had  been  twice  married.  Since  the  death  of  his  second 
wife  he  lived  until  the  time  of  his  death  with  Mrs.  B — ,  who 
gave  the  necessary  information;  his  aunt,  Mrs.  C — ,  added  to  it 
and  it  was  finally  corroborated  by  William  H — ,  who  worked 
with  him. 

He  worked  as  a  smelter  for  17  years  prior  to  his  death,  at 
several  places  which  have  now  gone  out  of  business  and  of  which 
Mrs.  B —  could  give  no  definite  information.  He  worked  for 
meny  years  at  T — 's,  where  C —  and  H —  also  worked.  Here 
he  showed  definite  signs  of  lead  poisoning  and  was  ill  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  time.  Later  he  was  employed  with  W — .  His 
last  job  was  with  J — .  Here  he  worked  five  years  and  became 
totally  incapacitated.  From  Mrs.  B — 's  description  of  him  it  was 
clear  that  he  had  had  a  very  bad  case  of  double  wrist  drop  and 
that  his  arms  and  legs  had  become  partially  paralyzed.  After 
leaving  J —  he  tried  to  run  a  little  coal  and  ice  shop;  his  con- 
dition became  worse  and  he  was  taken  to  the  Metropolitan  Hospi- 


476  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

tal,  where  he  died.     An  autopsy  was  per   formed   at   Bellevue 
Hospital. 

For  a  considerable  time  prior  to  his  leaving  the  employ  of  J — , 
he  had  been  in  very  poor  health  and  had  had  attacks  of  lead  colic, 
which  kept  him  from  working  for  considerable  periods.  He  was 
also  at  St.  Vincent's  Hospital  and  two  or  three  convalescent  homes. 

G —  is  reported  to  have  been  a  considerable  drinker,  but  not 
to  excess.  He  wore  a  mustache.  He  was  very  cleanly  and  his 
aunt  narrated  with  some  wonder  how,  during  the  hot  weather,  he 
took  a  bath  in  a  tub  every  evening.  He  smoked,  but  did  not 
chew.  He  earned  very  good  wages,  when  his  health  permitted, 
as  much  as  $21.00  per  week. 

His  first  attack  came  suddenly  and  another  victim  of  industrial 
poison  scarcely  beyond  his  prime  passed  over  the  line. 

Case  No.  36. —  James  McP — : 

Is  employed  with  the  N —  Company.  He  is  an  interesting  man, 
intelligent,  and  his  employer  gave  him  a  record  of  being  a  steady, 
reliable  and  sober  worker.  He  had  his  first  attack  of  lead  colic 
in  February,  1911,  when  he  was  ill  two  days.  He  has  had  several 
minor  attacks  since  then,  and  is  now  out  of  work  about  one  day 
every  two  weeks. 

McP —  had  worked  at  his  present  occupation,  smelting  and 
casting,  for  21  years,  and  last  February  was  the  first  time  he 
noted  ill  effects  therefrom.  In  early  life  he  did  odd  jobs  ind 
chores  around  the  farm  of  the  man  he  lived  with.  His  first  really 
continuous  work  was  when,  in  1890,  he  got  employment  with 
the  C —  Lead  Company,  as  a  "  mixer  "  in  the  type  and  solder 
metal  room.  Here  his  duties  were  to  measure  out  the  ingredients 
for  the  various  sorts  of  composites  required,  attend  to  the  melting 
of  them,  skim,  when  necessary,  stir,  and  finally  >pour  them  out  into 
pigs. 

Four  different  sorts  of  metal  are  thus  prepared,  each  with  a 
great,  and  almost  overwhelming  proportion  of  lead.  That  con- 
taining the  least  of  this  dangerous  metal  is  the  ordinary  plumbers' 
"  half-and-half "  solder,  which  is  composed  of  50  per  cent  tin  and 
50  per  cent  lead,  by  weight.  As  tin  is  much  more  expensive  than 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  477 

lead,  there  is  a  constant  temptation  to  substitute,  and  other  solders, 
also  called  "  half-and-half,"  are  made  for  the  coarser  and  cheaper 
work,  in  which  the  tin  sinks  as  low  as  38  per  cent,  and  the  re- 
maining 62  per  cent  is  all  lead.  The  name  "  half-and-half  "  thus 
becomes  a  meaningless  "  trade  custom,"  and  it  becomes  necessary 
to  specify,  when  buying  solder,  just  how  much  tin  you  insist 
upon  having.  Various  grades  are  made  and  guaranteed  by  the 
companies.  A  blend  of  43  1-3  per  cent  tin  to  56  2-3  per  cent  lead 
is  the  common  standard  for  roofing. 

Stereotyping  metal  comes  next  in  lead  content,  having  only 
4  per  cent  tin,  14  per  cent  antimony  and  82  per  cent  lead.  Slightly 
softer  than  this  through  its  additional  1  per  cent  of  lead,  is  the 
metal  used  in  the  melting  pots  of  linotype  machines:  tin  4  per 
cent,  antimony  13  per  cent,  lead  83  per  cent.  Nearest  to  pure 
lead  is  electrotyping  metal,  which  is  wanted  very  soft,  and  is 
composed  of  tin  2  per  cent,  antimony  4  per  cent,  lead  94  per  cent. 

In  the  smelting  of  these  ingredients  together,  the  stirring,  the 
skimming  and  pouring,  there  is  bound  to  be  some  oxidation,  and 
that  is  largely  the  source  of  danger.  McP —  worked  with  the 
C —  people  fifteen  years  (June,  1890  to  February,  1905),  dur- 
ing which  time  he  lost  regularly  from  4  to  6  weeks  per  year 
through  unemployment.  He  was  never  ill  in  this  plant.  There 
was  running  water,  which  the  men  would  heat  on  a  stove  in  cold 
weather  for  washing  purposes,  the  hours  were  10  a  day  with  9 
on  Saturday,  making  a  59-hour  week,  only  half  an  hour  was  given 
for  meals,  and  the  pay  received  by  this  man  was  but  $13.50  per 
week. 

Mainly  to  better  himself  in  this  respect,  he  took  up  work  in 
February,  1905,  with  the  N — Company,  then  a  new  firm,  with 
whom  he  has  stayed  ever  since.  His  work  was  practically  the 
same  as  in  the  other  place,  the  only  difference  being  that  he  now 
makes  more  solder  and  less  of  the  type  metals.  Here  his  pay  is 
$15  per  week,  work  is  much  steadier,  only  3  or  4  days  per  year 
being  lost  as  a  rule;  the  long  hours  and  the  short  one-half-hour 
lunch  time  remain  unchanged. 

When  seized  last  winter  with  the  colic,  McP —  suffered  from 
cramps,  constipation,  headache,  loss  of  appetite,  loss  of  weight, 
and  a  dull  and  heavy  pain  in  the  abdomen.  He  called  in  a  doctor 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

who  treated  him,  but  only  admitted  that  the  trouble  was  lead 
poisoning  upon  a  direct  question.  After  two  days  out  of  the  shop 
McP — went  back  to  work.  Ever  since  the  cramps  in  the  stomach 
have  been  bothering  him  at  intervals  of  two  or  three  weeks,  mean- 
ing the  loss  of  a  day's  time  at  each  recurrence. 

As  a  workman  he  is  strong,  vigorous  and  active-minded. 
He  was  born  in  Tipperary,  Ireland,  in  1872,  but  was  brought 
to  this  country  at  the  age  of  two.  In  1897  he  married  a  splendid 
young  countrywoman  of  his,  who  was  born  in  1878.  Five  chil- 
dren have  been  born  to  them.  Four  are  now  alive,  all  bright  and 
intelligent,  and  ranging  from  11  to  1  year  in  age.  The  third 
child,  a  boy,  died  in  1905,  at  10  months.  He  had  thrived  as  long 
as  his  mother  had  been  able  to  nurse  him.  When  he  went  on  the 
bofltle  he  began  to  fail,  and  the  summer  after  his  birth  succumbed 
to  summer  complaint.  There  is  no  history  of  miscarriage  or  pre- 
mature birth. 

In  the  C —  works  where  McP —  worked  first,  verbal  in- 
structions were  given  the  men  as  to  how  to  avoid  the  dangers 
of  the  trade.  They  were  warned  to  keep  out  of  the  dust  all 
they  could,  to  keep  the  floor  wet  down,  and  to  sweep  as  often  as 
they  could.  No  printed  notices  were  put  up.  He  regularly  eats 
a  solid  breakfast  of  meat  or  eggs,  and  potatoes.  He  chews  to- 
bacco nearly  constantly,  believing  that  it  helps  clear  the  throat 
and  stomach  of  lead  dust,  and  rarely  smokes  a  pipe.  As  to  alco- 
hol, he  is  almost  a  total  abstainer,  taking  a  glass  or  two  of  beer 
only  at  very  great  intervals  on  some  special  occasion.  In  the  first 
place  he  worked  he  used  to  eat  lunch  right  in  the  shop,  or  sitting 
outside  in  warm  weather.  Now  he  lives  so  near  to  his  work  that 
he  is  able  to  to  come  home  every  day.  He  always  washes  before 
meals,  in  either  hot  or  cold  weather.  He  wears  a  moustache,  but- 
never  had  a  beard.  A  novel  feature  of  his  case  is  that  in  some 
of  the  departments  of  the  factory  the  men  wear  "  muzzles,"  or 
respirators  with  cheese  cloth.  Most  of  the  men,  himself  included, 
change  clothing  completely  when  they  go  to  work,  and  put  on 
overalls. 

Case  No.  37.—  Tonio  M — : 

In  a  rear  room,  dark  as  pitch,  in  a  basement  8  feet  below  the 
street,  Tonio  M —  was  found,  caster  for  a  white  lead  company. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISKASKS.  47'.* 

He  is  a  splendid  looking  man,  with  a  kindly  face  and  a  martial 
bearing.  Due,  perhaps,  to  the  system  he  has  worked  out  of  alter- 
nate lead  and  non-lead  employments,  he  shows  superficially  no 
traces  of  the  chronic  plumbism  with  which  he  is  now  afflicted. 

M —  is  a  Pole  by  birth,  and  a  Catholic.  He  was  born  in 
1870,  and  in  youth  learned  carpentry  in  his  native  land.  In 
1906  he  thought  he  saw  a  wider  field  across  the  water  and  came 
to  America,  going  at  once  to  some  place  "  in  Connecticut,"  where 
from  June  until  November  he  plied  his  chosen  calling  for  $6  a 
v?eek  and  keep,  60  hours  per  week. 

Building  operations  then  being  slack,  M —  drifted  to  New  York, 
where,  with  a  few  breaks,  he  has  been  ever  since.  His  first  work 
here  was  as  a  porter  on  the  A —  S —  Company's  docks  in  Brook- 
lyn. His  pay  here  was  $9.30  a  week,  10  hours  daily,  with  an 
hour  for  dinner. 

After  a  little  more  than  a  month  at  this  M —  got  work  in 
.December,  1906,  at  a  white  lead  company.  He  was  made  a  '"'cas- 
ter," that  is,  he  operates  the  kettle  in  which  lead  pigs  are  placed 
and  melted  and  from  which  they  are  poured  out  in  the  form  of 
"  buckles "  for  the  corroding  rooms.  The  danger  here  is  from 
hanging  the  pigs,  and  from  breathing  fine  particles  of  oxide 
when  the  molten  lead  is  skimmed  or  stirred.  His  pay  was  then, 
and  is  now,  on  this  job,  $12  weekly,  his  hours  10  per  day,  59 
per  week,  and  his  dinner  time  one-half  hour  daily.  In  these  first 
four  years  in  the  lead  shop  he  lost  no  time  through  slack  work, 
but  about  a  week  in  days  here  and  there  during  which  he  was 
incapacitated1'  through  lead  colic.  He  cannot  remember  the  exact 
dates  of  these  attacks,  but  there  were  more  than  one  per  year. 

Finally,  taking  warning  from  his  condition,  M —  decided  to 
''  cut "  the  lead  works  and  the  city  for  a  time,  and  went  to  North 
II — ,  Conn.,  where  again  he  worked  at  building  and  carpenter- 
ing, from  June  to  October,  1910.  His  pay  was  only  $10  for  60 
hours  a  week,  but  he  was  in  the  open  air,  and  by  fall  he  had  recov- 
ered, to  his  own  satisfaction,  from  the  lead. 

So  back  to  his  casting  furnace  in  the  latter  month  he  camo. 
His  work,  hours  and  pay  remained  the  same  as  before,  but  not 
so  the  length  of  his  employment.  In  March,  1911,  after  only 
six  months  over  the  furnace,  he  was  laid  up  with  an  attack  of 
paralysis  of  tho  finger*,  pains  in  flic  stomach,  and  complete  bodily 


480  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

weakness.  For  six  weeks  he  lay  at  home  in  this  condition,  hardly- 
stirring  from  bed,  dosing  himself  with  a  prescription  written  by 
the  company  physician.  When  the  six  weeks  had  passed  and  he 
again  felt  able  to  work,  he  returned  to  North  Haven. 

This  was  in  May,  1911.  From  then  until  the  middle  of  July 
he  worked  in  a  brickyard,  shaping  bricks  by  machine,  and  getting 
$12  for  a  60-hour  week,  with  one  hour  for  dinner.  Then  slack 
work  drove  him  back  to  the  lead  work. 

Here  he  has  worked  ever  since,  losing  no  days  because  of  ill- 
ness, but  never  feeling  quite  well.  As  soon  as  he  begins  to  feel 
"  colicky "  he  takes  a  dose  of  salts  and  a  sip  of  the  physician's 
medicine  and  so  managed  to  worry  along.  The  symptoms  of  par- 
alysis are  not  at  the  present  evident,  but  his  demonstration  of  how 
he  couldn't  hold  a  spoon  when  he  had  the  attack  was  most  pitiful. 

M —  married  in  1893,  his  wife  was  born  in,  1874.  The 
couple  have  had  five  children,  of  whom  four  were  boys,  bu't  all 
five  were  born  in  Poland  before  their  father  came  here,  and  have 
never  come  to  America.  The  father  wears  no  beard,  but  a  mous- 
tache, eats  meat,  bread  and  coffee  regularly  for  breakfast,  takes 
10  cigarettes  daily,  but  rarely  touches  either  beer  or  whiskey.  He 
used  to  eat  dinner  in  the  workroom,  washing  in  cold  water  before 
ea'ting.  He  says  the  company  once  had  respirators  for  the  men; 
it  also  furnishes  cold  water  and  a  doctor. 

Stomach  trouble  seems  to  be  a  permanent  effect  of  lead  in  this 
case. 

Case  No.  38. —  Abraham  F — : 

Eoissian  Jew,  born  at  Warsaw,  Kussia,  came  to  this  country 
in  1899.  He  is  now  33  years  of  age  and  is  much  above  the  average 
in  intelligence. 

He  learned  his  trade,  as  a  diamond  worker,  in  the  famous  dia- 
mond market,  Amsterdam.  Ever  since  coming  to  the  United  States 
he  has  worked  at  his  trade.  At  the  first  place  where  he  was  em- 
ployed he  remained  eight  years,  and  it  was  while  working  there 
that  he  began  to  feel  the  first  symptoms  of  what  his  doctor  later 
diagnosed  as  lead  poisoning. 

His  particular  job  has  been  diamond  polishing.  The  diamond 
is  placed  in  a  chunk  of  lead,  which  is  held  by  the  worker  on  a 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  481 

short  stick.  This  chunk  of  lead  is  shaped  very  much  like  a  small 
pear,  and  the  diamond  is  at  the  apex.  The  diamond  is  held  against 
a  rapidly  revolving  disc,  which  polishes  off  the  surfaces  of  the 
stone.  The  man's  hands  become  grimy  from  the  use  of  the  lead 
and  a  certain  amount  of  lead  dust  is  ground  off. 

F —  began  to  feel  the  first  symptoms  of  lead  in  1900.  The 
doctors  to  whom  he  went  did  not  seem  to  be  able  to  diagnose 
his  case  and  gave  him  sleeping  potions.  He  did  not  improve.  He 
was  troubled  with  sleepiness,  constipation,  impaired  vision,  weak- 
ness and  a  slight  palsy  in  the  arms,  hands,  legs  and  feet.  He  has 
had  no  attack  of  lead  colic  and  has  not  lost  weight,  apparently, 
and  except  for  a  slight  pallor  of  countenance  he  did  not  look  ill 
at  all. 

He  has  just  given  up  his  job,  at  the  advice  of  his  physician, 
and  is  about  to  go  abroad  to  visit  his  parents.  He  intends  to  re- 
main away  from  work  about  four  months,  to  enable  him  to  get 
the  lead  out  of  his  system.  He  also  expects  to  consult  foreign 
specialists. 

He  was  never  given  any  instructions  regarding  the  dangers  of 
the  work.  He  is  accustomed  to  smoking  usually  about  three  cigars 
daily,  even  while  working.  He  drinks,  perhaps,  a  glass  of  whisky 
once  in  three  months.  He  has  been  accustomed  to  eating  in  the 
workroom,  usually  without  washing,  no  hot  water  being  provided. 
He  stated  that  the  men  usually  left  their  finger  nails  very  short 
in  order  to  prevent  them  from  getting  very  black.  He  believed 
that  the  workers  should  be  told  concerning  the  dangers  of  lead 
poisoning  and  they  would  then  take  the  necessary  precautions. 

Case  No.  39. —  Franklin  K — : 

A  young  printer,  only  22  years  old,  a  native  and  lifelong  res- 
ident of  Brooklyn,  died  suddenly  of  lead  poisoning  on  October 
14,  1910.  He  ihad  never  been  ill  before  in  his  life.  He  was 
brought  home  suffering  terribly  on  a  Monday  afternoon;  Friday, 
he  died. 

K — 's  industrial  career  was  varied,  changing  from  printing  to 
shoemaking  and  back  again.  Some  time  in  1895  he  first  began 
work  as  an  errand  boy  and  job-press  "kicker"  in  a  little  print- 
16 


482  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

ing  shop  in  Brooklyn.  His  presswork  was  limited  to  printing  by 
foot  power  small  jobs,  such  as  envelopes  and  visiting  cards.  His 
wages  were  not  high  —  $2.50  to  $3  per  week  —  he  worked  eight 
hours  a  day,  48  a  week,  and  got  a  whole  hour  for  lunch. 

In  that  same  year,  1895,  he  ftried  shoemaking,  becoming  a 
"stitcher,"  or  one  who  sews  soles  and  uppers  together,  in  a  large 
shoe  plant.  Here,  by  doing  piecework,  he  was  able  to  grind  out 
$10  or  $12  per  week,  working  54  hours  in  winter  and  49  in  sum- 
mer, with  an  hour  for  lunch.  Neither  on  this  nor  the  previous 
job  did  he  lose  any  time  through  illness  or  unemployment;  but 
in  1905  he  was  permanently  laid  off,  and  it  was  a  year  and  a 
quarter  before  he  found  work  again. 

When  he  did,  it  was  to  return  to  the  types,  where  he  had  been 
formerly.  He  became  a  hand  compositor  and  make-up  man,  worked 
steadily  for  the  nine  ytears  from  1901  to  1910,  lost  no  time 
through  slack  or  illness,  and  earned  on  the  average  $10  to  $12 
weekly  for  48  hours.  One  hour  was  again  given  him  for  lunch. 

What  happened  at  this  job  his  family  do  not  know,  but  he  left 
or  lost  his  place,  and  again,  for  a  week,  was  unemployed.  Then  he 
found  work  at  the  same  occupation  with  a  large  printing  firm  in 
New  York  city.  He  went  there  in  August,  worked  steadily  until 
October  10,  and  then  suddenly  was  taken  violently  ill. 

He  was  rushed  home  to  Brooklyn  and  a  doctor  called.  So  ter- 
rible were  the  young  man's  agony  and  contortions  that  the  prac- 
titioner at  first  thought,  he  had  taken  poison.  His  stomach  was 
pumped,  and  the  physician  decided  it  was  lead.  For  three  days, 
at  home,  the  young  printer  suffered,  crying  aloud  in  his  pain, 
his  body  doubled  up,  his  appetite  gone,  and  racked  with  spas- 
modic vomiting.  Two  days  more  he  lingered  at  the  German  Hos- 
pital in  New  York  and  on  the  fifth  day  after  his  seizure  was  taken 
home  dead. 

K — 's  pictures  show  him  to  have  been  a  stalwart,  wide-awake 
young  chap.  He  never  married.  It  is  not  known  whether  warnings 
or  notices  of  the  dangers  from  lead  were  ever  presented  to  him. 
His  customary  breakfast  was  coffee,  with  a  roll  or  a  piece  of  cake. 
Once  in  a  while  he  smoked  a  cigar,  but  consumed  about,  four 
cigarettes  daily.  Once  in  a  great  while  he  took  a  glass  or  two 
of  beer. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  483 

He  always  washed  in  cold  water  before  eating  and  never  took 
lunch  in  the  shop.  He  was  in  the  habit  of  changing  his  trousers 
before  getting  to  work,  and  was  clean  shaven.  His  family  phy- 
sician diagnosed  his  case  as  lead  poisoning. 

Case  No.  40. —  Alexander  G — : 

On  October  10,  1910,  Alexander  G —  died  of  chronic  lead 
poisoning  contracted  while  employed  as  a  printer. 

G —  was  an  old  man  —  64  when  he  died  —  but  rugged 
American  stock  of  Scotch  extraction.  "  He  had  an  iron  consti- 
tution and  a  nerve  that  never  let  go,"  said  his  wife.  He  was 
,tall  and  at  his  prime  weighed  1C  9  pounds.  At  death,  after  ten 
years'  suffering,  he  weighed  89  pounds. 

,  He  was  born  in  Brooklyn  in  1846,  the  family  having  come 
pver  from  Scotland  in  the  previous  century.  Early  in  life  he 
learned  the  printer's  trade.  He  was  an  expert  compositor,  job 
hand,  make  up  man  and  "  stone  man."  He  also  was  a  press 
.expert,  and  was  the  mechanical  mainstay  of  the  plants  in  which 
Jie  worked.  When  anything  went  wrong  with  machines  or  presses, 
the  word  was  always  "  Send  for  Sandy." 

,  When  he  first  came  into  his  wife's  life,  in  the  early  '60's,  he 
was  working  for  a  printing  concern  in  New  York.  He  then 
received  $18  for  a  60-hour  week,  with  one  hour  allowed  for  din- 
ner. In  1868  they  were  married,  and  two  years  later  he  took 
work  with  the  Blank  and  Blank  Company,  New  York.  His 
tours  were  still  60  a  week  with  one  off  for  dinner  each  day. 
His  wages  at  first  were  $18  a  week,  the  same  as  at  his  previous 
place,  but  later  were  raised  to  $21,  where  they  remained.  In 
pre-election  rush  times,  by  working  several  days  and  nights 
steadily  and  drawing  the  double  pay  required  by  the  Typograph- 
,ical  Union  for  overtime,  he  was  occasionally  able  to  make  $40 
pr  $50  for  the  week.  The  inhuman  strain  he  thus  put  himself 
(under,  however,  may  have  contributed  in  no  slight  degree  to  his 
final  "  leading "  and  death. 

He  remained  with  the  Blank  and  Blank  firm  from  January, 
1870,  until  the  summer  of  1906.  In  1904  he  lost  four  week? 
because  of  rheumatism,  but  apart  from  that  work  was  steady 


484  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

find  his  lead  poisoning  had  not  yet  grown  severe  enough  to  keep 
him  at  home.  About  1888,  however,  he  began  to  complain  of 
terrible  cramps  in  the  stomach.  He  contracted  a  deep  cough 
and  expectorated  heavily.  These  two  circumstances  led  him  to 
believe  he  had  catarrh  of  the  stomach,  a  theory  he  held  to  his 
dying  day,  always  indignantly  scouting  the  physicians'  diag- 
nosis of  plumbism.  He  consumed  vast  quantities  of  sal  hepatica, 
stomach  tablets,  seidlitz  powders  and  the  like,  but  all  the  time 
Jris  cramps  were  getting  worse,  his  appetite  failing,  and  his  pow- 
erful strength  waning.  He  lost  his  color  and  became  almost  as 
white  as  a  sheet  —  pernicious  anemia  had  set  in.  Vomiting, 
Inability  to  retain  any  solid  food,  came  as  the  culminating  blow. 
In  1889  he  had  moved  his  family  to  H — ,  N.  J.,  and  com- 
muted to  work,  but  even  the  change  of  air  did  not  help  him, 
and  in  the  summer  of  1906,  as  stated  above  he  was  finally  forced 
to  quit  work.  For  three  or  four  weeks  he  tried  to  work  as  a 
gateman  at  a  grade  crossing,  for  a  railroad  at  the  wage  of  $7 
a  week,  for  12  hours  a  day,  Sundays  included.  But  although 
the  gates  were  "  automatic,"  the  work  was  too  much  for  him  in 
his  weakened  condition,  and  before  the  end.  of  the  month  he  left. 
,  The  following  four  years  he  spent  at  home,  moving  back  to 
^Brooklyn  in  1907  to  be  near  his  boyhood  haunts.  A  $16  a 
week  benefit  from  the  Union  and  his  children's  earnings  sup- 
ported the  home.  But  his  condition  became  more  and  more 
alarming,  and  in  the  middle  of  August,  1910,  he  was  removed 
,to  the  Presbyterian  hospital  for  treatment.  He  was  kept  there 
,for  seven  weeks  under  the  closest  supervision,  being  frequently 
seized  with  convulsions,  and  most  of  the  time  delirious  with  pain. 
On  October  1  he  was  brought  home  as  hopeless,  and  on  the  10th 
he  died. 

G —  and  his  wife  had  twelve  children,  six  of  whom  are 
,to-day  alive  and  grown  up.  The  oldest,  a  boy,  born  in  1868, 
died  of  concussion  of  the  brain,  due  to  a  fall,  at  the  age  of  ten 
,months.  The  fourth,  a  girl,  died  at  two  months,  from  pneu- 
.monia,  in  1873,  The  ninth,  a  girl,  was  accidentally  killed  the 
,day  of  her  birth  in  1887  by  her  mother's  falling  with  her.  The 
,eleventh,  a  girl,  born  in  1890,  succumbed  at  ten  months  to 
bronchitis. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  485 

The  other  two  who  died  require  special  consideration.  They 
are  the  tenth  and  twelfth  in  order,  both  boys,  one  born  in  1888 
and  the  otker  in  1891,  the  little  girl  who  died  of  bronchitis  com- 
,ing  between  them.  1888  is  two  years  before,  and  1891  is  one 
year  after,  the  date  somewhat  roughly  set  by  Mrs.  G —  as 
the  beginning  of  her  husband's  lead  symptoms.  He  may  well  have 
been  suffering  before  1888;  her  memory  on  that  point  is  not 
clear.  Both  these  infants  were  born  dead,  the  first  at  full  term, 
the  second  at  seven  months.  This,  especially  when  coupled  with  the 
fact  that  the  intervening  child  did  not  have  stamina  enough  to 
withstand  at  ten  months  an  attack  of  bronchitis,  apparently  be- 
trays a  progressive  impregnation  of  the  infants  corresponding 
to  the  growing  intensity  of  their  father's  leading.  This  seven 
months'  miscarriage  was  the  wife's  last  attempt  to  have  children. 

Mrs.  G —  does  not  know  whether  her  husband  was  ever 
warned  of  the  dangers  of  lead  in  his  trade  or  not.  She  thinks 
he  may  have  absorbed  the  poison  through  holding  type  in  his 
mouth,  by  handling  the  type,  and  by  inhaling  the  dust.  He 
always  ate  a  light  breakfast  of  coffee  and  only  a  part  of  one 
roll,  ate  the  noon  meal  in  the  shop,  and  always  washed  in  hot 
and  cold  water.  He  wore  a  mustache  but  no  beard.  He  wore 
an  apron  while  at  work,  but  was  accustomed  to  no  other  change 
of  clothing  on  ordinary  work  days.  He  is  described  as  an  almost 
constant  chewer  of  tobacco,  believing  it  was  good  for  him,  and 
a  frequent  smoker.  His  wife,  who  was  a  strict  teetotaler,  told 
with  sorrow  that  he  was  a  rather  heavy  drinker,  Scotch  whiskey  be- 
ing his  favorite. 

Both  the  staff  of  the  Presbyterian  hospital  and  the  coroner's 
physician,  of  the  Coroner's  office,  Brooklyn,  diagnosed  G — 's 
ailment  as  chronic  lead  poisoning,  and  there  can  be  no  doubt 
that  this  is  a  case  of  a  powerful,  able  man  succumbing  to  that 
industrial  poison. 

Case  No.  41- —  Adolph  H — : 

H — ,  a  Catholic  German,  was  born  in  Germany  in  1853.  In 
1888  with  his  wife  and  children  he  came  to  American  and  estab- 
lished his  home  in  Brooklyn  where  he  has  lived  ever  since.  He 


486  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

now  has  eight  children,  four  married  and  four  at  home.  H —  is 
a  carpenter  by  trade,  although  for  nine  years  he  has  worked 
intermittently  in  a  blacksmith's  shop.  In  1906  he  began  work- 
ing in  the  same  car  repair  shops  in  Brooklyn,  where  up  to  six 
weeks  ago  he  has  worked,  with  the  exception  of  a  couple  of 
months  each  summer  when  he  worked  in  a  blacksmith  shop.  He 
is  at  present  employed  in  a  blacksmith  shop  in  Brooklyn,  earn- 
ing $17  a  week  and  working  nine  hours  a  day. 

H —  evidently  contracted  lead  poisoning  while  -working  on 
the  freshly  painted  cars  in  these  repair  shops.  The  conditions 
under  which  he  worked  are  no  doubt  largely  responsible  for  his 
attacks,  two  in  number.  The  hours  in  these  shops  are  from 
seven  to  five-thirty  with  half  an  hour  for  luncheon.  H —  had  to 
leave  home  at  5.30  every  morning  and  consequently  often  ate 
p.  scanty  breakfast.  The  luncheon  hour  was  so  short  that  he 
never  had  time  to  wash  before  eating.  He  always  ate  at  a 
nearby  saloon  and  it  was  all  he  could  do  to  get  there  and  back 
in  half  an  hour.  Like  most  Germans,  H —  had  his  beer,  but 
is  not  a  heavy  drinker.  His  attacks  of  lead  poisoning  were  due 
without  a  doubt  to  the  long  hours,  short  time  given  to  luncheon 
and  lack  of  washing  facilities.  He  has  left  the  shops  for  good 
as  he  is  now  earning  $2  a  week  more  than  he  earned  there,  and 
is  working  under  more  favorable  conditions. 

H — 's  children  are  normal  and  healthy.  Their  mother 
says  that  they  have  always  been  well,  with  the  exception  of  one 
daughter  who  has  recently  undergone  an  operation  for  tumor. 
The  H — 's  last  two  children  are  dead  —  one  from  diphtheria  and 
the  other  from  measles.  H —  seems  to  have  escaped  any  perma- 
nent effects  from  his  attacks  of  lead  poisoning,  but  Mrs.  H — 
says  that  nothing  could  induce  him  to  return  to  the  car  shops. 

Case  No.  J+2 — Herman  S — : 

His  regular  occupation  is  that  of  a  plumber.  He  is  now  suffer- 
ing from  chronic  plumbism.  S — ,  who  was  seen  at  his  home, 
is  very  weak  and  ignorant  as  to  the  nature  of  his  trouble. 
He  claimed  to  be  suffering  from  constipation,  and  daily  gastric 
fli&turbances.  For  a  year  and  a  half  or  two  years  back  he  has 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  487 

had  severe  attacks  of  cramps, —  a  week  or  two  apart,  lasting  for 
about  an  hour.  He  has  had  no  cramps  since  returning  from  tha 
hospital,  October  31.  Has  good  appetite,  but  is  afraid  to  eat 
heartily  on  account  of  the  gastric  disturbances.  Samuels  has  been 
a  plumber  and  tinsmith  for  17  years.  He  has  done  job  work,  but 
has  worked  for  no  particular  firm.  He  was  first  incapacitated  for 
work  last  March  (1911).  Since  then  he  has  kept  a  small  hard- 
ware store  with  wife's  assistance.  The  man  claims  not  to  have 
used  alcohol  for  many  years,  although  he  smokes  both  pipe  and 
cigarettes.  He  wears  a  moustache.  The  S —  have  five  chil- 
dren, all  boys  but  one,  and  all  well  and  strong.  They  have  lost  a 
boy  and  girl  by  death.  Mrs.  S —  has  had  no  miscarriages  or  still 
born  children. 

Case  No.  43. —  Michael  R — : 

R —  is  a  Pole,  who  came  to  this  country,  leaving  a  wife  and 
two  children  in  the  "  old  country."  He  found  employment  in 
the  brass  foundry  of  W — ,  in  New  York  city.  Here  he  handled 
lead  constantly  and  soon  was  affected  by  a  disease  which  the  doctor 
diagnosed  as  chronic  lead  poisoning.  He  went  to  the  New  York 
Hospital  and  was  ill  about  three  months.  He  has  now  returned 
to  the  old  job  at  the  foundry  where  brass  beds  are  made. 

Case  No.  44. —  Harry  B — : 

B —  is  a  Russian  Jew  and  has  been  in  this  country  eight  years. 
He  is  a  tinsmith  and  has  worked  in  a  shop  on  the  lower  East  Side 
for  several  years.  B —  had  been  well  until  the  spring  of  1909, 
when  he  had  an  attack  of  painter's  colic,  was  sick  for  three  months 
and  was  treated  at  home  by  a  private  physician. 

He  suffered  with  abdominal  pains  and  severe  pains  in  his  head. 
Later  he  had  an  operation  for  mastoiditis. 

He  returned  to  his  work  after  three  months,  and  now  works 
every  day  but  has  never  been  really  well.  He  goes  home  to  his 
lunch  each  day  and  is  careful  to  wash  before  eating. 

The  family  is  extremely  neat  and  clean  in  the  home,  and  it  is 
likely,  therefore,  that  he  is  careful  about  his  clothing.  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  B —  were  married  in  1907  and  have  no  family. 


488  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Case  No.  45.—  Sadie  G-: 

Sadie  is  an  intelligent,  neat,  clean  girl,  who  has  worked  from 
the  time  she  got  her  working  papers  in  embroidery 
factories.  She  was  a  stamper  and  for  several  years  be- 
fore she  was  poisoned,  earned  $10  a  week.  In  her 
work  she  was  accustomed  to  use  a  white  powder  (chalk 
or  talcum  was  usual)  which  was  brushed  over  the  perforated  de- 
signs and  thus  transferred  to  the  cloth.  The  design  was  easily 
brushed  off  when  made  of  chalk  or  of  talcum,  if  the  embroiderers 
were  not  careful.  Her  last  employer  therefore  commenced  using 
white  lead  powder,  mixed  with  rosin,  which  cheapened  the  work 
as  the  powder  could  not  be  rubbed  off  and  necessitate  restamping. 

None  of  the  girls  knew  of  the  change  in  powder,  nor  of  the 
danger  in  its  use.  The  workroom  was  crowded  and  hot,  the  stamp- 
ers' tables  were  farthest  from  the  windows  and  the  constant  use 
of  the  powder  caused  them  to  breathe  it  continually  and  their 
hands  were  always  covered  with  it. 

Sadie  had  been  a  very  strong,  healthy  girl,  good  appetitie  and 
color;  she  began  to  be  unable  to  eat,  had  terrible  colic,  but  con- 
tinued to  go  to  work  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  she  felt  miserable. 
Her  hands  and  feet  swelled>  she  lost  the  use  of  one  hand,  her 
teeth  and  gums  were  blue.  When  she  finally  had  to  stop  work, 
after  being  treated  for  months,  for  stomach  trouble,  her  phy- 
sician advised  her  to  go  to  a  hospital.  There  the  examination  re- 
vealed the  fact  that  she  had  lead  poisoning  —  which  was  unac- 
countable as  no  one  knew  that  her  work  had  involved  the  use  of 
lead  until  some  one  who  had  been  on  the  job  also  recalled  hearing 
the  manager  send  a  messenger  out  with  money  several  times  to 
buy  a  white  lead  powder. 

Sadie  was  sick  in  the  hospital  for  six  months — (losing  $10  per 
week).  She  said  her  employer  bought  off  several  of  her  witnesses, 
but  before  the  case  came  to  trial  two  years  later  several  of  them 
also  became  ill  and  consequently  decided  to  testify  for  her.  The 
employer  appealed  to  the  girl's  feelings  and  induced  her,  on  the 
day  of  the  trial,  to  accept  $150.  He  said  that  he  had  had  busi- 
ness reverses  and  consequently  would  be  unable  to  pay  in  case 
she  won. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  489 

Her  lawyer  was  suing  for  $10,000.  At  the  present  time  the 
girl  is  23  years  old  and  though  she  has  apparently  good  health, 
she  is  no  longer  strong  and  is  very  susceptible  to  disease. 

Case  No.  1+6. —  Thomas  J  — : 

Is  a  big  Barbadoes  negro,  in  the  prime  of  his  strength,  28  years 
of  age.  He  came  from  the  Barbadoes  in  May,  1911,  and  went  to 
work  almost  immediately  for  the  contractor  on  the  new  Fourth 
Avenue  subway.  About  the  middle  of  August  his  gang  was  laid 
off  and  he  went  to  work  in  a  factory  making  red  and  yellow  oxide 
of  lead.  Here  he  worked  in  the  sugar  of  lead,  or  lead  acetate,  de- 
partment. His  job  was  to  shovel  the  crystalized  lead  acetate  from 
the  vats  to  conveyors  and  later  to  pack  it  into  barrels.  His  work 
involved  chopping  out  the  lead  in  which  process  a  considerable 
quantity  of  dust  was  raised,  and  which  also  involved  considerable 
handling  of  the  lead  which  he  usually  did  with  his  bare  hands. 
He  worked  here  about  a  month  and  a  half  when  he  was  taken  with 
severe  colic  and  weakness  in  arms  and  wrists.  His  doctor  advised 
him  to  go  to  a  hospital,  which  he  did;  he  remained  there  a  week 
and  at  home  a  week.  He  then  returned  to  work,  but  could  only 
stand  it  about  three  days  and  had  another  attack  which  kept  him 
out  of  work  two  weeks.  J —  then  changed  his  job,  and,  with 
the  exception  of  slight  pains  in  the  abdomen,  he  is  now  feeling 
all  right. 

He  says  he  always  took  especial  care  in  washing  and  eating. 

Case  No.  47.—  Aleck  S-: 

S —  is  a  Russian  Pole,  31  years  of  age,  who  came  to  this 
country  with  the  opening  of  the  new  year,  1911.  Before  he  had 
been  here  a  year  he  had  contracted  a  serious  case  of  lead  poison- 
ing which  kept  him  out  of  work  for  seven  weeks. 

He  found  employment  with  a  white  lead  company  in  Brook- 
lyn, where  his  job  consisted  of  packing  dry  white  lead  in  barrels. 
.This  subjected  him  to  the  dangers  of  dust  and  for  this  dangerous 
.work  he  received  $9.60  per  week.  About  the  first  of  November, 
pfter  about  ten  months'  steady  work,  he  was  taken  ill  with  severe 
polic  and  cramps,  weakness  in  his  wrists  and  arms.  He  was 


490  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

put  of  work  for  seven  weeks.  He  has  returned  to  the  factory 
pnd  is  again  working  at  his  old  job.  He  has  a  heavy  lead  line 
and  will  doubtless  be  incapacitated  in  a  short  time. 

He  claims  that  he  was  never  instructed  as  to  how  to  care 
for  himself  or  that  the  work  was  dangerous.  He  saw  no  in- 
structions. He  is  evidently  careful  in  his  habits,  and  his  land- 
lord told  how  he  actually  refused  to  accept  drinks  even  as  treats. 
,He  was  accustomed  to  eat  in  the  work  room,  but  had  little  oppor- 
tunity to  wash,  and  then  only  in  cold  water.  His  hands  were  still 
(dirty  from  the  day's  work  when  the  inspector  saw  him.  The 
company  where  this  man  is  employed  has  a  doctor.  S —  claims 
although  the  doctor  did  treat  him  at  first,  he  didn't  pay  any 
attention  to  him  later  on.  He  wears  a  respirator  and  doubtless 
this  accounts  for  the  length  of  time  previous  to  the  poisoning. 

Case  No.  48. —  Greogora  T — : 

,  A  Russian  Pole.  He  came  to  this  country  just  a  year  ago 
.(January,  1911),  and  went  to  work  almost  at  once  for  a  white 
lead  concern.  He  worked  as  a  packer  of  dry  white  lead.  Here 
te  worked  until  October,  or  about  nine  months,  when  he  was 
,taken  with  a  severe  attack  of  lead  poisoning.  He  was  in  Gou- 
verneur  hospital  for  five  weeks  and  remained  at  home  another 
.week.  He  then  returned  to  work,  but  after  a  week  at  it  he  was 
again  incapacitated.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  off  and  on, 
.working  not  more  than  half  the  time. 

He  had  severe  colic  and  cramps  and  his  arms  became  stiff 
and  useless. 

T —  was  never  instructed  concerning  the  danger  of  the  work, 
although  his  foreman  is  a  Russian.  He  is  temperate,  drinks  very 
little  and  does  not  smoke.  He  washed  in  cold  water  ordinarily, 
but  says  he  didn't  have  time  to  do  it  thoroughly.  He  is  at  present 
ill,  and  a  heavy  lead  line  is  evident. 

Case  No.  49. —  Vladimir  P — : 

A  Russian  Pole,  thirty  years  of  age  came  to  this  country  in 
January,  1910.  He  found  work  at  once  in  the  works  of  a  whin 
Jead  company.  Here  he  worked  as  a  stripper  of  the  corroding 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  491 

.beds,  which  brought  him  directly  in  contact  with  the  dry  white 
.lead.  For  this  work  he  received  $9.60  per  week  —  a  week  of 
.sixty  hours,  ten  hours  a  day.  Early  in  March  of  the  same  year 
he  had  a  severe  attack  of  lead  colic.  From  that  time  until  the 
end  of  the  year  he  worked  only  irregularly  on  account  of  the 
more  or  less  regular  recurrence  of  the  poisoning.  He  probably 
,did  not  work  more  than  half  the  time.  Since  January,  1911, 
However,  he  has  been  much  better  and  has  worked  steadily. 
,  He  says  he  was  never  instructed  and  that  he  saw  no  signs. 
He  reads  only  Russian.  He  is  very  temperate;  he  does  not 
.smoke  and  only  drinks  one  glass  of  beer  daily.  He  had  severe 
,colic  and  his  arms  became  almost  useless,  later  his  knees  and 
ankles  swelled  considerably. 

He  seems  to  have  recovered  from  his  illness  and  although 
still  working  at  the  same  job  is  now  healthy.  He  is  treated 
by  the  factory  physician  and  takes  medicine  regularly. 

Case  No.  50. —  John  D — : 

,  A  Hungarian,  who  works  in  the  tempering  room  of  a  big  wire 
works,  says  that  he  worked  in  the  same  place  and  at  the  same 
job  for  five  years  without  having  an  attack  of  lead  poisoning. 
About  three  'months  ago,  however,  he  had  his  first  attack.  He 
was  taken  with  severe  colic  and  was  incapacitated  for  a  week. 
Since  losing  that  week  he  has  had  slight  attacks  off  and  on  which 
Jiave  not  necessitated  his  giving  up  work  for  any  length  of  time. 
His  wife  says,  however,  that  he  has  no  appetite  now  and  that 
she  cannot  persuade  him  to  eat  much.  He  does  not  eat  a  hearty 
meal  before  going  to  work. 

D —  tends  the  pots  of  molten  lead,  through  which  the  wire 
is  drawn.  He  works  one  week  on  day  shift  and  the  next  week  on 
night  shift  They  do  not  give  the  men  who  work  at  these  furnaces 
any  time  at  all  for  lunch  because  the  furnace  cannot  be  left.  The 
men  eat  a  bite  whenever  they  can  get  a  chance,  but  do  not  have  even 
half  an  hour  in  which  to  eat.  There  is  no  wash  room,  the  man 
says,  but  provisions  for  washing  are  made  in  the  workroom. 
When  they  wash,  they  wash  there.  He  says  all  the  men  on  that 
floor  have  had  lead  poisoning  (doubtful).  No  instructions  or 
warnings  are  ever  given  them. 


492  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

D —  is  a  young  man  of  22  years.  His  wife  is  three  years 
younger,  and  they  have  been  married  less  than  a  year.  He  is 
smooth-faced,  dark  complexioned,  tall  and  strong  looking,  but 
listless  in  appearance.  He  uses  no  alcohol  and  very  little 
tobacco  —  only  once  in  a  while  a  cigar  at  home.  For  all  the 
risk  he  takes,  with  the  constant  danger  of  lead  poisoning,  he  is 
paid  $12  per  week. 

Case  No.  51. —  Charles  G — : 

A  young  Scotchman,  31  years  of  age,  gave  up  the  sea  some 
eight  years  ago  and  settled  down  to  life  as  a  caster  in  a  tinfoil 
factory.  Here  his  job  consisted  of  melting  up  lead  pigs  together 
with  tin  and  some  other  ingredients  which  make  up  tinfoil;  then 
ran  the  molten  composition  into  a  mould,  forming  a  slab  of  the 
metal  about  two  feet  square  and  one  inch  in  thickness.  This  slab 
was  then  taken  to  the  rollers  where  it  was  rolled  thinner  and 
.  thinner  as  desired.  After  working  here  for  eight  years  he  was 
taken  with  a  sort  of  paralysis  of  the  hand,  the  fingers, —  especially 
of  the  right  hand  closed  tightly  —  and  he  found  it  impossible  to 
open  them  without  assistance.  When  seen  at  the  hospital  he  had 
been  there  only  a  week,  but  showed  decided  improvement. 

At  the  time  of  the  attack  he  was  earning  $15.00  per  week.  He 
described  the  room  where  he  worked  as  well  ventilated  by  two 
large  exhaust  fans  and  as  clean  and  well  lighted.  He  was  instructed 
as  to  the  dangers  of  the  work,  and  was  told  to. wash  thoroughly 
and  to  rinse  out  his  mouth  before  eating.  G —  chews  a  good 
deal  and  smokes  a  pipe  and,  like  most  men,  drinks  beer  and  occa- 
sionally whiskey. 

The  place  where  G —  worked  was  inspected  and  is  doubtless 
the  cleanest,  best  equipped  (with  the  exception  of  hoods)  of  any 
casting  room  seen  by  the  inspector.  It  is  also  evident  that  the 
man  took  precautions.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  how  very  careful 
employers  and  employees  must  be  to  avoid  lead  poisoning. 

Case  No.  52. —  Alexander  C — : 

Is  a  young  Russian  Pole,  26  yenrs  ol  age,  who  came  to  this 
contry  in  1906.  Like  many  young  laborers  he  found  employment 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  493 

at  various  unskilled  work  until  he  found  a  position  with  a  white 
lead  company  in  the  spring  of  1911.  Here  he  worked  in  the  cor- 
roding beds,  putting  the  blue  buckles  (uncorroded  lead)  into  the 
jars  and  after  the  corrosion  had  taken  place  emptying  the  con- 
tents into  a  large  car  which  carries  the  lead  off  to  the  separators. 
Here  he  was,  of  course,  subjected  to  considerable  lead  dusfo,  and 
after  a  few  months  began  to  feel  distinct  symptoms  of  lead  poison- 
ing. He  had  a  severe  attack  of  nausea,  vomiting  and  cramps. 
This  was  just  eight  months  after  he  commenced  work.  At  the 
time  of  investigation  he  had  been  idle  on  account  of  lead  poison- 
ing for  three  weeks  and  his  debilitated  condition  indicated  that 
he  would  remain  so  for  a  somewhat  longer  period. 

While  at  this  job  he  worked  two  hours  per  day,  had  one-half 
hour  for  lunch,  and  earned  $12.00  per  week.  He  was  never  given 
any  instructions  concerning  the  danger  of  his  work  and  he  couldn't 
read  those  posted  in  the  factory.  He  ate  regularly  in  the  room 
where  he  worked,  occasionally  he  washed  before  eating.  He  drinks 
moderately,  one  or  two  glasses  of  beer  per  day.  He  smokes  cigar- 
ettes. If  he  gets  out  of  this  work  at  once  and  stays  out,  he  will 
probably  get  over  the  effects.  If,  however,  he  goes  back  to  work 
it  will  be  merely  a  matter  of  time  before  he  becomes  thoroughly 
leaded  and  totally  incapacitated. 

Case  No.  53. —  Raymond  F — : 

A  Barbadoes  negro,  came  to  this  country  in  May,  1908.  He 
found  employment  in  a  paris  green,  factory  where,  he  says,  most 
of  the  men  contracted  a  rash,  or  pimples,  which  ate  deeply  into 
the  skin  (ulcers).  He  staid  there  only  a  month  and  then  went 
to  work  for  a  lead  company,  in  the  lead  acetate,  or  sugar  of  lead 
department.  At  present  he  is  sort  of  a  subforeman,  and  earns, 
more  than  the  other  men.  He  handles  much  of  the  lead  with  his 
hands.  He  directs  its  removal  from  the  vats,  the  carrying  and 
moving  of  it  from  the  vat  rooms  to  the  packing  department. 

He  has  had  only  one  attack,  which  occurred  about  Thanksgiv- 
ing, 1911,  after  he  had  been  working  at  this  work  for  about 
three  and  a  half  years.  He  claims  to  have  been  careful  in  his 
personal  habits  and  not  to  indulge  too  freely  in  alcoholic  beverages. 
He  says  the  superintendent  instructed  him  to  keep  his  hands  clean, 
but  nothing  more. 


494  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

The  most  interesting  part  of  this  case  is  the  effect  upon  the 
offspring.  He  had  one  child  born  in  Barbadoes.  It  is  living  and 
physically  strong  and  healthy.  Since  working  in  lead  his  wife  has 
had  two  conceptions;  the  first  ended  with  a  birth  before  the  nor- 
mal term,  at  the  end  of  seven  months.  The  attending  physician 
stated  that  this  was  really  a  miscarriage.  A  second  child  born  a 
year  later  lived  six  months  and  died  in  convulsions.  Dr.  Thomas 
Oliver  states  that  this  result  may  be  expected  from  lead  workers1. 
In  view,  however,  of  the  absence  of  attacks  on  the  part  of  the 
worker  himself,  the  case  is  exceptionally  interesting. 

(NOTE. — Cases  54,  55,  57,  58  and  59  are  those  of  employees  in 
a  Federal  Navy  Yard,  reported  to  liave  contracted  lead  poisoning. 
They  are  omitted  from  this  report  because  the  Commission  its  with- 
out jurisdiction  to  inquire  into  conditions  there.) 

Case  No.  56. —  Mrs.  Myra  W — : 

While  in  the  employ  of  B —  and  W — ,  who  were  engaged 
in  the  embroidery  business,  Mrs.  W —  who  was  then  un- 
married suffered  from  a  very  serious  attack  of  lead 
poisoning.  She  entered  their  employ  in  the  year  1901 
and  had  worked  two  years  before  she  had  this  attack.  She  was 
an  embroidery  stamper,  and  she  learned  when  her  case  was  diag- 
nosed by  a  physician  at  the  hospital  that  she  had  been  using 
powdered  white  lead  for  transferring  the  design  to  the  cloth. 

She  was  taken  with  very  severe  pains  and  vomiting.  She 
suffered  intensely  and  could  get  no  relief  for  some  time.  She 
lost  three  months  of  work  and  never  returned  to  B —  and 
W — .  She  afterward  did  the  same  sort  of  work  for  four  years, 
from  1903  to  1907,  under  the  employ  of  another  embroidery 
shop.  In  1907,  Mrs.  W—  -  was  married  and  she  now  has  a 
little  girl,  Hannah,  who  was  born  January  31,  1909.  The  child 
has  always  been  healthy.  Mrs.  W —  thinks  her  nervous  system 
is  still  deranged  from  the  effects  of  the  attack. 
.  She  is  a  native  of  New  York  city,  born  in  January,  1881,  of 
Jewish  parentage.  Previous  to  1901  she  was  living  in  her  home 
with  her  parents.  At  the  last  place  where  she  worked  she  re- 
ceived $12.00  for  the  work  of  a  week  which  consisted  of  fifty- 
four  hours,  nine  hours  each  day,  with  one-half  hour  for  lunch. 


l  See  Oliver,  Bulletin  of  Labor,  95,  pp.  107-111. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  495 

These  conditions  were  practically  the  same  at  the  first  place 
where  she  worked. 

Case  No.  60. —  John  W — : 

.  Now  75  years  of  age,  came  to  this  country  from  Birming- 
ham, England,  in  1874.  Immediately  after  his  arrival  he  en- 
tered the  employ  of  the  New  York as  a  compositor;  he 

had  learned  the  trade  in  his  old  home  in  England  and  had 
worked  at  it  since  his  youth.  He  remained  with  the  - 
until  1879,  when  he  went  to  another  of  the  great  New  York 
.dailies.  Here  he  remained  until  1894,  when  he  was  pensioned 
by  the  Typographical  Union.  For  a  time  he  was  an  inmate  of 
the  Union's  Sanitarium  and  Home  for  the  Aged,  at  Cold  Springs, 
Col.,  but  did  not  care  to  stay  there,  although  the  care  was  excel- 
lent. He  returned  to  New  York  city. 

Like  most  printers,  he  smoked  considerably  and  has  since  ten 
years  of  age,  and  also  drank  a  good  deal,  especially  after  his 
wife's  death,  which  occurred  before  he  came  to  the  United 
States.  He  was  first  sick  in  1876,  shortly  after  he  had  come 
to  this  country.  From  1879  to  1894,  while  working  for  the 
newspaper,  he  had  constant  attacks  of  lead  poisoning  which 
.finally  resulted  in  wrist  drop.  This  he  thinks  that  he  cured  by 
wearing  a  bandage  which  he  says  is  made  of  eel  skin,  about  his 
wrist.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  after  ceasing  his  employ- 
ment the  lead  was  gradually  eliminated  from  his  system.  He 
is  now  permanently  crippled,  due  to  paralysis  and  contraction 
pf  the  toes,  which  makes  it  very  difficult  for  him  to  walk. 

Case  No.  61.— Elmer  M — : 

A  native  of  Belgium,  where  he  learned  diamond  polishing. 
Jn  1895  he  emigrated  to  the  United  States  and  has  followed  kis 
trade  as  a  diamond  polisher  in  New  York  city  ever  since.  This 
business  requires  expert  workers  and  the  wages  paid  are  con- 
sequently high.  The  disadvantage  in  the  trade  arises  from  the 
fact  that  the  worker  is  idle  perhaps  twenty  weeks  in  a  year. 
M —  earns  about  $56.00  a  week,  working  eight  and  three  quarter 
hours  a  day  and  48  hours1  a  week;  one-half  hour  is  allowed  for 
lunch. 


496  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

M —  had  his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning  in  1908.  This  was 
the  first  illness  he  had  had  in  his  life.  At  present  the  man  looks 
healthy  and  is  quite  stout. 

IL 

PAINTERS. 

Case  No.  62.—  Moe  S-: 

A  Russian  Jew,  has  been  in  this  country  five  years.  He  has 
been  a  painter  for  10  years.  He  is  married  and  has  three  chil- 
dren living  and  two  dead.  Before  coming  to  America,  Simp- 
son worked  in  Germany  at  K — ,  but  experienced  no  signs  of  ill 
health. 

,  He  has  suffered  from  chronic  lead  poisoning  and  was  recently 
.sick  in  bed  for  three  months.  He  has  been  obliged  to  change  his 
occupation  since  his  illness,  and  now  takes  orders  for  enlarging 
portraits,  at  which  he  has  now  been  working  for  two  months,  at 
$7.00  per  week.  He  has  trouble  with  his  head  and  eyes,  also 
dyspepsia  and  arthritis.  His  appearance  indicates  anemia. 

In  Germany,  he  says,  the  men  were  warned  about  the  danger 
of  the  work  and  many  firms  used  zinc  white  instead  of  white 
lead,  though  this  is  more  expensive.  Long  projecting  gowns  were 
furnished  the  men  to  cover  their  clothing  while  at  work  and 
also  a  particular  kind  of  soap  with  which  to  wash  their  hand* 
Here  they  wash  their  hands  with  benzine  which  causes  unpleas- 
ant effects.  When  he  talked  to  the  men  with  whom  he  worked 
here  about  being  careful  the  employers  objected.  He  seemed 
rather  intelligent  and  recognized  the  necessity  of  something  be- 
ing done  to  protect  the  workmen. 

When  he  worked  as  a  painter  he  earned  $3.50  per  day.  He 
usually  took  very  little  breakfast  before  going  to  work.  He  did 
inside  work  almost  exclusively.  He  did  not  drink  nor  smoke. 

Case  No.  62. —  David  L — : 

A  Russian  Jew,  twenty-three  years  old,  came  to  the  United 
States  in  1903  and  has  been  in  New  York  city  five  years. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  497 

He  is  a  painter  and  has  worked  at  the  trade  five  years.  Last 
year  he  had  an  acute  attack  of  lead  poisoning.  He  was  taken 
,sick  on  the  streets  with  cramps  and  suffered  with  vertigo.  He 
was  taken  to  the  hospital,  where  he  remained  three  months. 
Although  at  present  he  says  he  is  well,  he  still  looks  badly  and 
is  anemic  and  suffers  with  his  head  when  in  a  closed  room. 

L —  drinks  tea  and  wine,  does  not  use  tobacco  and  eats 
no  breakfast.  He  is  careful  to  wash  his  hands  in  hot  water  and 
,cleans  his  nails  before  eating,  and  always  goes  outside  to  eat. 
He  does  not  wear  a  mustache  or  beard.  He  changes  his  clothes 
,at  home.  His  employer  is  an  old  gentleman  of  85  years  and 
is  good  to  his  men.  "  The  boss  always  tells  the  boys  how  to 
take  care  of  themselves  when  working  with  paint.  He  tells  them 
to  wash  their  hands  carefully  and  not  to  eat  where  they  work." 

L —  earns  $3.00  per  day  when  working.  He  has  worked  at  the 
P —  Hotel  and  Hotel  -  — ,  on  inside  work.  He  also  does  out- 
side painting. 

Case  No.  64. —  Pincus  W — : 

The  parents  of  Pincus  W- —  are  Austrians  and  cannot  speak 
English.  Pincus  was  a  painter  and  was  admitted  to  the  hospital 
July  21,  1910.  His  case  was  diagnosed  as  lead  colic.  He  was 
discharged  on  August  6,  1910.  On  August  4th  the  blue  line  was 
still  present. 

He  suffered  from  weakness,  loss  of  appetite,  abdominal  pains, 
with  vomiting  and  diarrhoea.  He  still  has  stomach  trouble.  Ho 
usually  ate  no  breakfast  before  going  to  work.  By  order  of  his 
physicians,  he  changed  his  occupation  after  the  illness. 

He  had  an  opportunity  of  marrying  a  young  lady  with  money, 
which  he  seized  at  once,  married  and  bought  a  candy  shop.  Since 
that  time  they  have  had  cne  son. 

Case  No.  65. —  Harry  W- — : 

Was  born  in  the  outskirts  of  Wilna,  Russia,  in  1878,  his  parents 
being  Russian  Jews.  In  1891,  at  the  age  of  13,  he  began  to 
learn  the  trade  of  bricklaying  which  he  carried  on  until  September, 
1899.  His  pay  was  five  rubles  ($2.50)  per  week  when  he  worked, 


498  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

which  was  only  about  half  the  year,  building  operations  being- 
stopped  the  rest  of  the  time  by  the  weather.  To  make  up  for 
this  long  period  of  slack,  work,  when  it  came,  was  piled  on  heavy. 
From  13  to  16  hours  daily  were  put  in,  or  about  90  per  week. 

To  escape  this  life,  W —  came  to  this  country  in  1899.  Prac- 
tically all  of  the  twelve  years  since  then  have  been  spent  in  New 
York  city  and  at  the  occupation  of  painting  and  paperhanging. 
At  the  beginning  the  wages  were  only  $3.00  per  week,  but  as 
he  learned  the  trade,  rose  to  $15.00  and  later  to  $18.00  at  which 
figure  they  have  been  for  the  last  nine  years.  The  hours  are 
now  only  9  per  day  but  the  period  of  unemployment  is  not  greatly 
shortened.  It  now  amounts  on  the  average  to  16  weeks,  yearly. 

Sometime  in  the  three  years  between  1899  and  1902,  while  he 
was  learning  the  trade,  White  got  his  first  attack  of  what  looks 
like  lead  poisoning.  It  was  a  two-day  seizure  of  severe  pains  in 
the  left  kidney.  The  physicians  of  the  Sick  and  Death  Benefit 
Fund,  to  whom  W—  -  went,  strongly  advised  him  to  give  up 
painting.  This  would  indicate  that  the  trouble  was  a  result  of 
lead.  The  advice,  however,  could  not  be  heeded  and  the 
third  day  after  his  seizure  found  the  man  back  at  his  job. 
From  then  until  1910  nothing  of  an  acute  nature  occurred,  but 
in  that  year  the  kidney  pains  returned  in  aggravated  form,  accom- 
panied by  loss  of  appetite.  Four  weeks  were  lost  from  work  by 
this  illness  and  during  the  present  year  an  exactly  similar  seizure 
caused  an  equal  loss.  At  present  the  man  is  ghastly  pale  and 
anemic  and  complains  of  pains  in  the  back  after  any  spell  of 
hard,  continuous  labor. 

W —  has  worked  for  several  bosses  in  his  painting  career, 
only  three  of  whom  kept  him  long  enough  to  fix  their  names 
in  his  mind.  All  of  them  allowed  one  (1)  hour  for  dinner,  but 
none  gave  him  or  posted  up  any  instructions  for  personal  care  to 
avoid  the  lead.  He  eats  a  breakfast  of  oatmeal,  bread  and  tea 
regularly,  smokes  ten  cigarettes  daily,  but  touches  no  alcohol  in 
any  form,  partly  from  natural  antipathy,  partly  from  the  physi- 
cian's orders.  He  nearly  always  leaves  the  job  at  noon  to  eat, 
wears  overalls  while  at  work,  but  goes  through  no  further  change 
of  clothing.  He  washes  before  meals  with  cold  water  and  soap- 
powder,  wears  a  moustache,  but  no  beard.  He  has  found  hot  and 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  499 

cold  water  in  the  places  he  worked  at,  but  would  like  to  have 
these  supplemented  by  towels,  soap  and  a  supply  of  washing  soda 
which  he  considers  very  efficacious  for  the  hands. 

W — 's  wife,  born  in  1883,  married  him  in  1901.  The  couple 
have  had  two  children,  a  boy  (6)  and  a  girl  (9)  who  look  plump 
but  pale. 

Case  No.  66. —  Sam  A — : 

,  Unmarried,  is  a  Jew  from  Ilussia.  Of  Russian  parentage, 
,he  came  to  .New  York  in  1904,  and  has  remained  here  until 
the  present  time.  He  is  by  trade  a  paper-hanger,  but  resorts 
occasionally  to  painting  as  a  means  of  a  livelihood.  As  a  paper- 
ganger  he  is  likely  to  come  in  contact  with  atmosphere  filled 
with  particles  of  paint  caused  by  the  sandpapering  of  painted 
wood  work,  as  painters  are  often  working  at  the  same  time  that 
,he  is  hanging  the  paper. 

From  August  to  October,  1911,  he  did  piece  work  here, 
.working  from  10  to  11  hours  a  day,  with  one-half  hour  off  for 
luncheon,  making  a  total  of  55  to  GO  hours  a  week.  He  earned 
from  $40  to  $60  a  week.  From  April  to  August,  1911,  he 
worked  as  a  paper  hanger  and  painter  at  the  P —  hotel.  He 
/did  time  work  here,  working  eight  hours  a  day,  with  an  hour 
pff  for  lunch,  totaling  48  hours  a  week.  He  earned  $17  a  week. 
^Because  of  the  lack  of  work  during  the  dull  season  he  is  obliged 
to  lay  off  about  five  months  in  a  year.  Since  stopping  work  at 
the  P —  hotel,  two  months  ago,  he  had  been  feeling  wretchedly 
and  has  done  no  work.  He  suffers  from  pains  in  the  shoulder 
And  cramps,  and  complains  that  his  hands  are  weak.  Six  weeks 
,ago  he  consulted  a  physician,  who  told  him  that  he  thought  he 
had  been  poisoned  with  lead.  A —  says  that  several  of  the 
men  who  were  working  at  that  time  at  the  P —  hotel  were 
.taken  sick  and  he  thought  that  one  reason  was  because  the  paint 
used  was  ready  mixed.  A —  does  not  wear  a  mustache  or 
beard;  he  does  not  eat  in  the  room  he  works  in  and  he  is  care- 
ful to  wash  his  hands  before  eating.  He  smokes  only  in  small 
quantities  and  drinks  a  moderate  amount,  chiefly  at  meal  time. 
.When  he  is  working,  he  has  a  very  poor  appetite  and  conse- 
quently eats  a  small  breakfast. 


500  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Case  No.  67.—  EliN—: 

.  Is  a  Jew,  born  in  Russia  in  1880,  of  Russian  parentage.  He 
came  to  New  York  in  1903  and  has  remained  here  until  the 
present  time. 

,  He  is  by  trade  a  painter.  For  the  last  three  years  he  has 
jbeen  working  for  himself,  hoping  in  this  way  to  make  his  work 
lighter  and  so  raise  his  general  state  of  health  which  was  not 
good.  He  makes  from  $13  to  $14  per  week;  his  hours  are  not 
regular  and  he  takes  from  one  to  two  hours  for  lunch. 
,  In  1906  he  worked  for  a  regular  contractor.  Then  he  did 
time  work,  earned  $18  a  week,  worked  eight  hours  a  day,  and 
from  45  to  50  hours  a  week  and  took  one-half  to  one  hour  for 
lunch.  Because  of  lack  of  work  during  the  dull  season,  he  is 
pbliged  to  lay  off  each  year  from  three  to  four  months. 
,  About  two  years  ago  he  had  an  attack  of  painter's  colic  with 
cramps,  pains  over  the  body,  swelling  of  the  body  and  dry  mouth 
and  throat.  He  was  at  the  hospital  for  ten  days,  but  was 
.unable  to  work  for  three  months.  The  poisoning  has  left  no 
permanent  effects  but  he  is  troubled  often  with  intense  pains 
and  the  blue  line  is  still  on  the  gums.  He  wears  a  mustache 
Jbut  no  beard;  he  is  careful  about  washing  before  eating  and 
does  not  eat  in  the  room  in  which  he  works.  He  smokes  from 
eight  to  ten  small  cigars  a  day  and  drinks  moderately  at  meal 
time;  He  seldom  has  an  appetite  when  he  is  working  and  in 
consequence  eats  small  breakfasts. 

He  has  a  wife,  born  in  1882,  and  two  children  —  D — ,  a  boy 
born  August  18,  1906,  and  E — ,  a  girl,  born  September,  1908. 

Case  No.  68.— Max  W-: 

,  Unmarried,  is  a  Jew,  born  in  Russia  in  1882,  of  Russian 
parents.  He  came  to  New  York  in  1889  and  has  remained 
here  until  the  present  time. 

He  is  by  trade  a  painter.  His  work  has  been  time  work; 
.working  eight  hours  a  day,  44  hours  a  week,  and  with  a  half 
to  one  hour  for  lunch,  depending  upon  the  season;  during  the 
busy  months  the  shorter  time  only  being  allowed.  He  earns 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  501 

from  $15  to  $22  per  week  and  counts  in  three  months  as  the 
amount  of  time  during  the  year  that  he  will  have  to  be  idle 
.because  of  lack  of  employment. 

Winter  has  had  three  attacks  of  lead  poisoning,  the  attacks 
(being  just  seven  months  apart.  He  has  been  obliged  to  be  idle 
because  of  this  illness  eleven  days.  When  sick  he  suffered  with 
.cramps  and  pain  in  the  right  side;  there  are,  however,  no  perma- 
nent effects. 

,  He  does  not  wear  a  beard  or  a  mustache.  He  does  not  eat 
jn  the  room  in  which  he  works  and  is  fairly  careful  to  hold 
.the  food  in  a  napkin  so  that  his  fingers  will  not  come  in  direct 
contact  with  it.  He  does  not  smoke  and  drinks  only  a  moderate 
amount  of  beer,  chiefly  at  meal  time.  He  does  not  always  eat 
a  good  breakfast,  because  of  lack  of  time. 

Case  No.  69. —  Nathan  B — : 

,  Was  born  in  Saxony,  Germany,  and  came  to  America  in 
August,  1888.  He  did  frescoing  but  did  not  find  the  work  very 
profitable  in  this  country.  He  worked  for  himself  for  a  time,  then 
for  his  landlord.  It  was  while  working  for  the  latter  that  he  had 
,an  attack  (acute  attack)  of  painter's  colic  in  July,  1909. 
Suffered  sever  abdominal  pains  and  distension.  The  lead  line  was 
very  marked.  He  was  crippled  for  a  while  and  was  first  treated 
at  home  by  a  physician  and  then  followed  the  advice  of  an  .old 
.German  druggist,  to  whom  he  believes  he  owes  his  life.  A  short 
time  after  this  attack,  he  had  typhoid  fever  and  was  treated  at 
3ellevue.  At  last  when  convalescent  he  was  sent  to  the  country 
jay  his  priest  and  after  six  weeks'  work  there  he  returned  to  the 
city  much  improved  and  has  since  been  working  steadily.  He 
£till  suffers  with  rheumatic  pains  in  his  feet  and  ankles;  uses 
some  tobacco  and  eats  but  little  breakfast.  He  drank  beer  and 
whiskey  but  was  told  to  stop  it  when  he  had  lead  colic.  After 
.abstaining  for  6  weeks  he  had  fever  and  says,  "  When  I  had 
lead  colic  they  said  I  drank  too  much  beer,  when  I  had  fever 
they  said  it  was  too  much  water.  Now  what  can  I  do?  "  He  was 
.married  in  Saxony  in  1888,  then  came  to  this  country.  They 
.have  had  12  children  —  two  girls  and  ten  boys,  four  of  whom 


502  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

.are  dead.  The  oldest  child  is  a  son,  now  22  years  old.  He 
.received  much  better  treatment  and  had  more  work  in  the  old 
.country,  but  is  ashamed  to  return  until  he  makes  good  here.  They 
.are  an  intelligent  and  thrifty  German  family. 

Case  No.  70. —  Andrew  F — : 

,  Was  born  in  Germany,  of  German  parents,  in  1877,  and  came 
,to  this  country  in  1896,  living  in  Brooklyn  until  the  time  of  his 
death,  Oct.  13th,  1909.  His  wife  does  not  speak  English,  so  the 
only  information  we  could  get  was  from  a  young  nephew.  F— 
had  no  children.  He  was  a  painter  and  paper-hanger  all  his  life. 
,  The  nature  of  his  attack  was  acute,  and  after  suffering  for 
,four  months  he  lost  the  use  of  his  right  arm  —  the  doctor  then 
pronounced  it  rheumatism.  This  illness  lasted  15  months  and 
,was  so  severe  that  he  looked  like  an  old  man,  altho'  only  32  years 
,of  age. 

All  that  we  could  find  out  as  to  working  conditions  was  that  he 
.always  washed  before  eating  and  usually  ate  in  a  nearby  saloon. 
His  hours  were  not  regular,  and  at  the  time  of  his  attack  he 
,had  been  working  on  an  interior  where  they  used  some  peculiar 
Jand  of  red  wallpaper. 

Case  No.  71. —  Joseph  B — : 

,  Was  born  in  Ireland,  of  Irish  parents,  in  1863,  was  married 
4n  1897  and  came  to  this  country  in  1900,  since  then  he  has 
Jived  in  Brooklyn.  His  wife  is  also  Irish,  born  in  1865  and  has 
.three  children,  thirteen,  six  and  three  years. 

B —  developed  lead  poisoning  while  working  for  himself  as 
a  painter  and  was  treated  at  a  hospital,  where  he  remained  for 
about  one  and  a  half  months  and  left  improved.  He  is  a  thin  and 
anemic  looking  man,  altho'  he  says  his  appearance  is  not 
altogether  due  to  his  recent  illness.  He  has  always  had  a  strong 
constitution  and  an  unusually  strong  heart,  but  tires  very  easily 
.since  his  attack  and  is  very  apt  to  take  cold.  He  attributes 
his  case  of  lead  poisoning  to  his  own  carelessness,  due  to  rolling 
cigarettes  and  eating  with  fresh  paint  on  his  hands.  He  nl-<, 
says  that  he  frequently  went  without  any  lunch  when  very  bu-\. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  503 

His  former  occupations  could  not  be  recorded  as  he  has  been  all 
over  the  world  and  worked  at  all  kinds  of  trades.  For  many 
years  he  lived  aboard  ship  and  did  odd  jobs  of  painting  without 
any  ill  effects.  He  traveled  in  South  America,  did  farming  in 
Australia  and  suffered  from  various  tropical  diseases,  including 
smallpox.  His  early  life  was  one  of  dissipation,  but  since  his 
marriage  he  has  not  drunk  to  any  great  extent,  altho'  he  is 
still  an  inveterate  smoker.  On  returning  for  additional  informa- 
tion we  found  that  B —  is  again  in  the  hospital  with  kidney 
trouble  and  a  general  breakdown ;  it  is  not,  however,  attributed  to 
lead  poisoning. 

Case  No.  72. —  Henry  H — : 

.  Is  a  Russian  Jew,  living  with  his  sister  and  brother-in-law 
in  Brooklyn.  He  is  22  years  old  and  has  always  worked  as  a 
painter;  eight  years  in  Russia  and  three  years  in  America.  He 
is  of  medium  height,  dark,  and  smooth  shaven.  When  20  years 
of  age,  while  painting  the  outside  of  a  house,  he  was  seized  with 
very  severe  cramps  and  was  in  such  a  serious  condition  that 
it  was  necessary  to  remove  him  to  the  hospital,  where  after  two 
weeks  he  was  discharged  as  cured.  This  was  the  first  attack 
that  he  has  ever  had  and  he  has  not  been  very  strong  since,  altho' 
he  still  continues  to  paint,  working  five  days  a  week  at  $3.50 
a  day.  He  smokes  cigars,  but  is  always  careful  to  wash  before 
eating,  although  his  boss  has  never  warned  him  of  any  dangers. 
He  was  unable  to  tell  me,  at  the  time,  for  whom  he  worked  at  the 
time  of  his  attack  or  any  job  since ;  he  is  working  at  present. 

Case  No.  73. —  Francis  F — : 

A  man  of  28  years.  Is  a  semi-chronic  invalid,  due  to  lead  poi- 
soning contracted  at  his  trade,  painting,  which  he  has  followed 
since  the  age  of  13.  Every  year  he  loses  an  average  of  eight  weeks, 
due  to  recurrences  of  his  symptoms.  These  include  headaches, 
dizziness,  colic  and  constipation,  which  are  acute ;  arthritis  of  the 
knee,  which  is  practically  chronic  and  the  blue  line  on  the  gums, 
which  was  detected  at  Gouvorneur  hospital  in  1909,  and  may  reap- 
pear at  any  time.  F —  is  another  one  of  those  who  first  and  last 


504  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

work  at  painting.  He  was  born  in  1883  in  Czernowitz,  Austria,  of 
Jewish  parents,  and  started  to  earn  his  own  living  at  thirteen. 
He  does  general  inside  and  outside  work,  including  much  sand- 
papering, which  is  the  worst  of  all  jobs  from  the  hygienic  side. 
Jn  summer  he  gets  an  hour  for  lunch,  but  in  winter  due  to  the 
early  darkness,  only  a  half  hour  is  taken,  the  men  quitting  earlier 
to  make  up  for  it.  The  customary  union  scale  ($22)  was  stated 
as  his  weekly  income  when  on  full  time. 

Last  year  F —  married;  his  wife  was  born  in  1883.  One 
child  has  been  born,  a  boy,  who  is  hale  and  sound.  None  of 
F — 's  employers  ever  cautioned  the  young  man  about  his  work 
or  posted  up  any  notices  to  any  similar  effect.  He  eats  a  light 
breakfast  regularly;  smokes  about  ten  cigarettes  a  day  and  drinks 
as  a  rule,  about  two  glasses  of  beer.  He  eats  in  the  workroom, 
but  always  washes  firsfl,  using  cold  water  most  frequently,  but 
hot  in  the  few  cases  when  it  is  available.  His  change  of  clothing 
is  confined  to  pulling  on  a  pair  of  overalls  in  the  morning.  Ho 
wears  a  moustache  but  no  beard;  can  attribute  his  illness  to  nothing 
but  his  occupation,  which  he  recognizes  as  very  dangerous. 

As  against  a  meagre  cold  water  supply,  which  is  the  extent  of 
the  precautions  he  has  met  with  in  his  work,  he  suggests  plentiful 
water,  especially  in  new  buildings  where  it  is  extremely  difficult 
to  get  a  drop  even  to  drink,  and  the  allowance  of  ten  minutes 
before  the  noon-hour  to  allow  a  thorough  cleansing  of  the  hands. 

Case  No.  74- — Morris  R — : 

A  man  who  makes  a  point  of  good  air  and  solid  food  for  himself 
and  his  family,  who  knows  all  about  the  danger  of  his  painter's 
trade  and  takes  extraordinary  precautions  against  them  and  who 
yet  has  had  several  severe  attacks  of  lead  colic,  is  Morris  R —  a 
man  well  on  in  life,  residing  in  Harlem. 

R —  was  born  in  1864.  He  looks  older  than  47,  but  explains 
this  as  due  to  the  incessant  worry  due  to  uncertainty  of  employ- 
ment. Due  to  his  aging,  R —  has  of  late  years  refused  to  work 
on  a  scaffold,  for  fear  of  falling.  Being  now  kept  at  inside  work, 
he  is  in  just  the  worst  situation  for  contracting  plumbism.  He 
always  get  ill  after  working  with  paint  steadily  for  several  weeks 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  505 

and  so  takes  great  care  to  vary  by  varnishing,  kalsoniining  or  the 
like. 

This  man  has  had  several  bad  attacks  of  colic,  keeping  him 
in  bed  each  time  from  one  to  four  weeks.  Coming  to  America 
from  Russia  in  1888,  and  to  New  York  city  in  1890,  he  has  been 
a  painter  ever  since  the  latter  date.  Naturally  the  names  of 
his  earlier  employers  are  lost  in  obscurity.  The  first  one  he  could 
readily  recall  was  I —  G — ,  for  whom  he  worked  from  June,  1908, 
to  March,  1910.  In  these  20  months,  two  were  lost  thro'  unem- 
ployment, but  no  period  of  illness  was  remembered.  During 
March  and  April,  1910,  he  worked  for  S —  &  S — ,  losing  one 
week  out  of  the  eight  with  a  frightful  colic  attack.  From  May 
to  November,  1910,  he  was  employed  by  M —  S — ,  here  he  lost 
three  weeks  due  to  unemployment  and  one  on  account  of  another 
seizure  of  painter's  colic.  J —  J —  was  the  next  employer.  Here 
the  work  was  very  confining  and  combined  with  the  anxiety  and 
short  rations,  consequent  on  eight  weeks  employment,  brought  on 
the  worst  series  of  colic' yet,  lasting,  in  all,  four  weeks.  From 
last  May  down  to  date,  R —  has  been  working  for  I —  G — ,  mainly 
in  the  capacity  of  an  overseer  and  general  manager.  In  this  way 
he  has  been  largely  out  of  direct  contact  with  lead,  and  while 
owing  to  another  eight  weeks  slack  time  in  this  period  has  had 
no  recurrence  of  the  colic.  Under  all  these  various  employers 
R —  received  $22.00  per  week  as  his  wages  for  44  hours'  work 
in  summer  and  one  hour  for  dinner,  while  in  winter  one-half 
hour  for  dinner. 

R — 's  wife  was  born  in  1867  and  married  him  in  1892.  All 
their  seven  children,  four  boys  and  three  girls,  were  born  at  regu- 
lar term,  and  are  alive  and  in  average  health  to-day,  except  one, 
a  boy  born  in  1906,  who  died  within  three  months  of  infantile 
debility.  All  possible  care  was  lavished  on  this  infant ;  he  was  sent 
to  an  institution  to  be  under  expert  care,  but  in  vain.  Whether  the 
child's  poor  physique  and  early  death  are  not  due  in  some  way 
to  the  father's  plumbism  is  at  least  a  fair  question.  The  father 
himself  says  he  doesn't  know. 

Instructions,  either  verbal  or  on  signs,  were  a  minus  quantity 
everywhere  R —  worked.  He  usually  eats  a  heavy  breakfast, 
but  an  interesting  point  is  that  every  morning  immediately  on 


506  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

arising  he  drinks  a  glass  of  boiled  water,  as  hot  as  he  can  take  it. 
This,  he  says,  keeps  his  stomach  in  tone  and  helps  wash  out  any 
traces  of  lead.  Two  packages  of  cigarettes  and  one  or  two  glasses 
of  beer  form  his  daily  allowance.  He  eats  in  the  workroom, 
washes  before  eating,  in  cold  water,  and  wears  overalls  while  at 
work.  Other  change  of  clothing  there  is  none.  lie  wears  a 
heavy  moustache  but  no  beard.  Fellow  workmen  who  knew  him 
ascribed  a  certain  droop  of  the  eye  lids  to  his  lead  poisoning,  but 
he  himself  does  not  think  there  is  any  connection  between  the  two. 
He  has,  however,  undergone  an  operation  for  the  eyes  for  some- 
thing which,  as  he  describes  it,  seems  to  be  a  sort  of  opacity  of  the 
lenses.  There  may  be  a  more  direct  connection  here  than  he 
suspects. 

,  Neither  canned  goods,  water  pipes  or  any  other  non-industrial 
cause  seem  to  apply  to  this  case  of  plumbism.  Cold  water  is  the 
only  precaution  R —  has  found  on  the  job.  Hot  water,  soap, 
towels,  lunch  rooms,  are  all  called  for  in  his  estimation ;  but  above 
all  some  way  to  compel  the  contractors  'to  get  the  water  supply 
into  their  new  buildings  as  fast  as  the  structure  progresses.  Often 
the  men  are  at  work  on  the  tenth  or  twentieth  story  and  the  only 
water  in  the  building  is  a  little  tap  down  in  the  sub-cellar.  If 
a  painter  goes  after  this  he  loses  most  of  his  lunch  time  traveling 
.up  and  down.  What  many  of  them  have  to  do  is  to  stay  up  aloft 
and  hold  their  food  between  pieces  of  paper,  to  keep  their  dirty 
hands  from  touching  it.  How  comfortable  a  meal  taken  under 
such  conditions  is,  needs  no  telling. 

Along  with  the  severe  colic  which  periodically  attacks  R — , 
goes  equally  severe  constipation.  The  growing  weakness  and  stiff- 
ness of  which  R — ,  although  only  47  years  old,  already  com- 
plains is  manifestly  due  in  greater  or  less  degree,  to  the  recurrent 
plumbism  with  which  he  is  afflicted. 

Case  No.  75.— Walter  L — : 

One  spring  morning  in  1860,  L — ,  then  a  16-year-old  appren- 
tice press  boy  in  M — 's  Printery,  left  the  cards  which  he  was 
dusting  with  bronz  and  gold  powder,  to  go  and  watch  his 
uncle  and  a  friend  paint  a  nearby  house.  From  that  time 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  507 

the  types  and  rollers  saw  him  no  more,  and  attracted  by  the  free- 
dom and  the  outdoor  life,  he  became  a  wielder  of  the  brush. 
After  various  vicissitudes  in  his  native  country  he  arrived  in 
America,  still  as  a  painter.  He  does  not  remember  many  of 
his  early  employers,  but  1908  found  him  at  work  doing  fine 
interior  work  and  finishing  in  a  private  residence,  up  on  the 
Hudson.  In  this  place  he  was  kept  steadily  sandpapering 
for  five  weeks.  This  is  the  process  which  yields  the  firm  ivory- 
like  finish  so  dear  to  the  eye  of  those  who  can  afford  it  —  in  this 
case  pure  white  is  applied  and  allowed  to  dry.  Then  it  is  sand- 
papered and  smoothed  and  a  second  coat  put  on.  The  sand-paper- 
ing process  is  repeated,  then  another  painting,  and  so  on  until  the 
surface  is  like  glass.  But  what  about  the  painter  meanwhile?  He 
is  living  in  a  cloud  of  dust  —  lead,  dust  —  white  lead  dust,  one 
of  the  worst  of  industrial  poisons.  As  L —  describes  it  — "  you 
might  as  well  eat  the  lead."  Before  the  five  weeks  were  over  he 
had  contracted  violent  arthritis  of  the  left  heel,  so  painful  that 
he  could  not  touch  the  affected  member  to  the  floor.  Still  he  kept 
hopping  about,  working  as  best  he  could.  Finally  he  was  forced 
to  stop,  returned  to  the  city  and  went  to  the  hospital.  There  they 
tested  the  nervous  reactions  of  his  left  leg,  examined  the  afflicted 
heel,  advised  him  that  he  had  been  "  leaded  "  and  told  him  to  give 
up  painting  if  he  wanted  to  save  himself. 

He  did  leave  it,  temporarily  at  least,  for  twelve  weeks  he  was 
unable  to  do  any  work,  and  used  his  time  going  to  the  hospital 
for  treatment  and  nursing  himself  at  home. 

Quite  a  change,  this,  from  the  peaceful  times  in  the  English 
printing  shop,  at  five  shillings  a  week,  for  60  hours^  work.  At 
the  end  of  the  twelve  weeks,  however,  L —  was  back  at  his 
brush:  losing,  on  an  average,  eight  weeks  yearly  through  unem- 
ployment and  always  suffering  more  or  less  with  his  leg.  He 
went  along  till  the  summer  of  1911.  Then  a  violent  and  painful 
swelling  of  the  knee  on  the  affected  side  came  upon  him,  necessi- 
tating another  twelve  weeks'  loss,  due  to  lead  illness. 

Of  recent  years  L—  has  been  a  member  of  the  Brotherhhood  of 
Painters,  and  claims  to  have  been  getting  the  required  $22.00  per 
week  for  44  hour*,  working  eight  hours  par  day  with  one  hour 
for  dinner. 


508  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

L — 's  parents,  like  himself,  were  English.  He  married  in  1861. 
In  all,  he  has  had  eighteen  children,  but  has  kept  no  record  of  the 
.dates  of  their  birth.  Fourteen  of  the  eighteen  are  now  alive,  as 
far  as  he  kn  DWS,  one  of  them  being  in  New  York  and  the  rest  in 
England.  Among  the  eighteen  there  were  two  miscarriages,  but 
these  seem  due  to  other  causes  rather  than  lead. 
,  No  instructions,  verbal  or  posted,  were  ever  given  this  man 
concerning  the  dangers  of  painting  or  how  to  guard  against  them. 
In  England,  due  to  the  custom  of  stopping  work  at  eight  o'clock 
for  a  meal,  he  used  to  go  to  work  breakfastless.  Over  here  he 
eats  a  light  meal  before  starting  for  the  job.  Once  in  a  great 
while  he  smokes  a  cigar  and  occasionally,  on  a  physician's  orders, 
takes  a  little  whiskey  in  milk.  Wherever  possible  he  washes  be- 
fore eating,  using  hot  water  in  the  few  cases  it  offered.  When  he 
can't  wash  he  holds  his  lunch  in  a  piece  of  paper  while  eating 
to  keep  the  paint  off  it.  He  wears  a  moustache,  but  no  beard. 
Living  in  a  furnished  room  house  and  eating  maimv  in  restaurant^ 
he  can  never  tell  whether  he  is  getting  canned  food  or  not,  but 
does  not  believe  he  got  his  lead  poisoning  that  way.  The  con- 
nection between  the  sandpapering  job  at  the  G —  mansion  and 
his  sore  heel  is  too  close  to  be  ignored.  As  to  safe-guards,  he  has 
found  hot  and  cold  water,  and  that  is  all.  He  suggests  the 
abolition  in  some  way,  of  the  dry  sandpapering  process,  and  re- 
quiring contractors  to  get  a  water  supply  early  into  the  new 
buildings. 

.  The  knee  at  present  is  quiescent,  but  his  left  wrist  is  troubling 
him  with  intervals  of  weakness  —  a  posible  forecast  of  eventual 
.wrist  drop. 

Case  No.  76.—  William  K-: 

.  Was  born  in  Germany  in  1860,  where  in  1876  he  began  to  learn 
the  painter's  trade,  and  working  at  it  for  several  years  in  France, 
much  of  the  time  in  Paris.  K —  had  to  come  to  America 
before  he  got  his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning;  then  it  got  him 
in  1901.  For  eight  weeks  or  more  his  left  shoulder,  arm  and 
wrist  were  paralyzed;  colic,  cramps  and  constipation  tortured 
him  and  acute  kidney  trouble  added  its  complication  to  the  others. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  509 

.  Rest  and  treatment  restored  him  to  his  former  strength  and 
.again  things  went  well  until  1905,  when  another  attack,  the  same 
as  the  first,  incapacitated  him  for  a  period  of  ten  weeks.  Since 
then  he  has  had  no  acute  paralysis  or  cramp  attacks,  but  the 
kidney  trouble  is  constant.  When  interviewed,  he  had  just  been 
discharged  after  having  helped  put  through  a  rush  job  of  four 
weeks'  duration.  From  ten  to  twelve  weeks  are  thus  lost  yearly 
by  this  painter,  who  says  those  are  the  common  conditions  in  the 
trade.  He  gave  his  wages,  as  customary,  as  $22.00  for  a  44-hour 
week,  eight  hours  per  day,  one  hour  for  lunch. 

K — 's  wife  was  born  in  1866  and  died  in  1908,  of  tuberculosis. 
They  had  three  children,  the  eldest  of  which  was  killed  in  infancy 
by  loose  milk.  The  other  two  are  stocky  and  strong. 
.  The  father  himself  is  a  powerful,  distinguished  looking  man, 
with  a  face  showing  much  refinement  and  education.  He  speaks 
German,  French  and  Kng-lish  fluently.  He  wears  a  mustache 
but  no  beard,  and  is  a  splendid  type.  He  says  no  warning  of  the 
.dangers  of  the  work  were  ever  given  him  or  posted  up.  He  eats 
a  light  breakfast  of  rolls  and  coffee  and  smokes  about  five  small 
cigars  daily.  Beer  and  whiskey  he  takes  in  small  quantities  and 
rarely,  other  liquors  not  at  all.  He  eats  in  the  workroom,  using 
cold  water  most  usually.  Cold  water,  and  little  of  that,  has  been 
the  utmost  precaution  he  has  found  for  the  safe-guarding  of  the 
painters.  No  cause  other  than  industrial  can  be  found  for  his 
attacks. 

Case  No.  77.—  Richard  W-: 

"  Frightful  pains  in  both  arms  and  wrists,  especially  the  right ; 
severe  cramps  in  fingers  and  right  calf ;  throbbing  headaches  three 
or  four  nights  in  succession,  making  sleep  impossible;  pains  in 
.the  legs  from  the  knees  down,  especially  in  the  ankles,  which  often 
swell  painfully;  a  swollen  joint  on  the  little  finger  of  the  right 
hand  which  is  over  a  year  old  and  still  growing."  This  is  W — 's 
own  description  of  the  chronic  effects  of  the  leading  he  has  under- 
gone in  his  long  career  as  a  painter. 

W — 's  parents  were  Scotch.  They  migrated  to  America  and 
at  L — ,  Mo.,  Richard  was  born  in  1850.  In  1868  he  began 


510  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

to  learn  his  trade.  As  a  young  journeyman  he  received  $18.00 
for  GO  hours'  work  a  week,  having  one  hour  daily  for  dinner. 
He  moved  a  great  deal  about  the  country  and  eventually  settled 
in  New  York,  where  he  has  worked  for  numerous  boss-painters 
in  the  last  20  years,  doing  general  painting  and  paperhanging. 
His  hours  are  eight  per  day,  44  per  week,  with  one  hour  (usually) 
for  dinner.  He  loses  from  eight  to  ten  weeks  yearly  through  un- 
employment and  occasionally  a  day  or  half  day  because  of  his 
lead  illness.  In  1908  he  lost  six  weeks  in  succession  on  account 
of  a  violent  attack  of  arthritis. 

,  In  1910  he  went  to  a  hospital  with  a  severe  ulceration  of  the 
lower  jaw.  From  there  he  was  sent  to  Bellevue,  where  he  was 
kept  two  weeks  and  a  section  of  the  diseased  bone  excised.  All 
his  teeth  are  loose  and  when  one  becomes  too  unsteady  and  uncom- 
fortable he  simply  picks  it  out  with  his  fingers.  The  lump  on 
his  little  finger  did  not  look  inflamed  and  is  not  painful  to  the 
touch,  but  is  round  and  hard  like  an  oakball  and  keeps  on  grow- 
ing. It  interferes  somewhat  with  his  work,  but  otherwise  his 
fingers  are  not  affected.  He  is  a  fine-looking  earnest  old  man, 
and  it  is  pitiable  to  hear  his  description  of  his  constant  pain. 

W —  has  one  child,  a  daughter  six  years  old,  who  has  never 
had  any  unusual  trouble.  His  wife  was  born  in  1864  and  married 
Jiim  in  1887.  No  instructions  were  ever  given  him  to  aid  in 
caring  for  himself  about  paint,  no  notices  were  posted  up  and  the 
only  precaution  he  has  ever  found  taken  was  a  cold  water  supply. 
He  knows  the  value  of  a  meal  before  coming  in  contact  with 
lead,  but  finds  it  impossible  to  force  himself  to  eat  anything  in 
the  morning.  He  never  touches  either  alcohol  or  tobacco  in  any 
form,  always  washes  before  the  noon  meal,  but  nearly  always 
has  to  eat  it  right  where  he  is  working.  He  wears  overalls  while 
at  work,  but  makes  no  other  changes  of  clothing.  He  wears  no 
beard,  only  a  mustache.  His  poisoning  can  be  traced  to  nothing 
else  but  his  occupation. 

i  "  Put  water  in  new  buildings,  when  and  where  painters  can 
get  it,"  was  his  emphatic  reply  when  asked  what  improvements 
would  help  matters. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  511 

Case  No.  78. —  Carsten  K — : 

Has  for  the  past  eleven  years  been  employed  as  a  painter  at 
at  a  hotel  in  New  York  city,  and  several  smaller  establishments 
in  cities  up-state.  His  work  has  been  the  general  renovating  and 
caretaking  of  a  large  hotel,  which  means,  of  course,  mainly  indoor 
work  in  confined  spaces.  As  a  result  he  is  a  chronic  sufferer  from 
colic  and  severe  headaches ;  his  disposition  has  been  made  irritable 
and  moody,  and  while  of  powerful  build,  he  always  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  great  illness.  In  the  winter  of  1909  he  was  confined 
to  bed  half  a  week  by  an  attack,  but  ordinarily  the  disturbances 
are  not  severe  enough  to  necessitate  loss  of  time.  Due  to  the 
nature  of  his  job,  he  has  lost  only  eight  weeks  on  slack  time  in 
eleven  years.  His  wages  have  been  $12.50  per  week  at  first,  now 
$15.00;  hours,  48  per  week  (eight  per  day  with  a  full  day  Satur- 
day), and  he  gets  one  hour  regularly  for  lunch. 

K —  was  born  in  Germany  in  1859,  coming  to  America  in 
1881  and  New  York  city  in  1882.  His  parents  were  Germans 
of  Gentile  stock.  His  wife  was  born  in  1864.  They  have  had  two 
children ;  one  died  of  rheumatism.  Instructions  or  warning 
notices  were  unknown  things  on  every  job  where  K —  worked, 
and  he  has  been  a  painter  all  his  life.  Since  working  in  the  hotel 
he  leaves  home  without  breakfast,  but  has  a  meal  before  starting 
in;  this  meal  usually  consists  of  eggs,  milk,  bread,  sometimes 
.chops  or  other  meat.  He  smokes  about  two  packages  of  pipe- 
tobacco  a  week  and  is  a  heavy  drinker.  He  is  also  fond  of  sit- 
ting up  late  nights,  thus,  no  doubt,  weakening  his  resistance  to 
lead  or  other  poison.  He  does  not  eat  in  the  workroom  and  always 
washes  in  hot  water  before  the  noon  meal.  Due  to  the  steam 
heat  in  the  hotels,  he  takes  off  all  his  outer  clothes  before  donning 
his  overalls  and  wears  the  same  clothes  around  home  that  he 
does  to  and  from  work.  In  his  case,  part  of  his  ill-appearance, 
unstable  temper  and  headaches  may  be  traceable  to  his  irregular 
habits  of  living,  but  the  chronic  or  almost  chronic  colic  seems  to 
necessitate  lead  as  cause.  It  was,  in  fact,  so  diagnosed  by  the 
family  physician. 

K —  has  been  singularly  fortunate  in  the  character  of  the 
place  where  he  works,  in  the  matter  of  safeguards,  as  hot  and  cold 


512  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

.water,  soap,  towels  and  washrooms  are  part  of  the  hotel  equipment 
,and  freely  used  by  him.  Similar  provisions  on  all  painting  jobs 
would  no  doubt  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  men  there  employed. 

Case  No.  79.— Walter  B-: 

,  Has  had  lead  poisoning  six  times  in  the  course  of  28  years' 
.painting.  The  symptoms  each  time  are  about  the  same  —  lead 
,colic  confining  him  to  bed  from  8  to  14  days,  severe  constipation 
and,  at  least  on  one  occasion,  the  blue  line  on  the  gums.  After 
each  attack  it  takes  about  two  weeks  for  him  to  recuperate  his 
/strength  so  as  to  return  to  work,  making  an  illness  of  four  weeks 
each  time  seized.  Besides  that  he  has  been  left  with  chronic 
affects,  namely:  distorted,  stiff,  weak  fingers  on  both  hands,  a 
weak  right  wrist  and  liability  to  sudden  and  severe  attacks  of 
cramps  in  the  hands  and  calves. 

B —  was  born  in  Germany  in  1859,  of  German  parents.  At 
the  age  of  14  he  took  up  painting,  and  has  kept  at  it  ever  since, 
doing  all-around  inside  and  outside  work.  In  1883  he  came  to 
America,  and  has  been  in  New  York  city  for  24  years.  He  loses 
16  weeks  out  of  every  year,  on  the  average,  due  to  unemploy- 
ment. When  employed,  he  states  that  his  wages  are  $22  per 
week,  of  44  hours,  eight  hours  daily  and  four  on  Saturday.  In 
summer  he  has  an  hour  for  lunch,  but  in  winter  only  half  an 
hour.  The  first  two  years  in  America  he  had  three  attacks ;  since 
then  they  have  come  less  frequently,  the  last  one  having  been  two 
or  three  years  ago. 

~No  instructions  were  ever  given  B —  as  to  how  to  protect  him- 
self against  lead  poisoning,  as  to  what  the  dangers  were.  No 
such  notices  were  ever  posted.  He  makes  a  breakfast  of  eggs,  rolls 
and  coffee  before  setting  out  to  work.  Chews  tobacco  a  little, 
smokes  three  or  four  pipes  a  day  and  drinks  two  or  three  glasses 
of  beer.  He  hardly  ever  eats  in  the  workroom,  always  being  par- 
ticular to  get  out  of  the  vicinity  of  the  paint  at  noon-time.  Cold 
water  is  the  usual  kind  used  for  washing.  He  doesn't  change  his 
clothes  at  home,  but  wears  overalls  while  at  work.  He  wears  a 
mustache,  but  no  beard.  Industrial  causes  are  the  only  ones  lead- 
ing to  lead  poisoning  in  his  case.  B —  is  eloquent  as  to  the  pre- 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  513 

cautionary  devices  which  should  be  installed  on  paint  jobs.  He 
says,  put  in  hot  water,  substitute  zinc  for  white  lead,  prohibit 
the  dry  sandpapering  process,  and  get  a  supply  of  water  in  new 
buildings;  these,  he  states,  would  go  far  toward  keeping  the 
painter  and  lead  colic  apart. 

Case  No.  80. —  Antonio  V — : 

,    While  engaged  in  renovating  the  offices  and  wards  of  a  large 
New   York  hospital   in   this  city,   Antonio   V —   was   suddenly 
seized  with  what  one  of  the  medical  staff  characterized  as  the 
worst  case  of  lead  colic  he  had  ever  known.     The  painter  was 
first  doubled  up,  unable  to  do  a  thing.     Prompt  treatment  relieved 
Jrim,  he  went  to  his  home,  returning  to  the  dispensary  for  five 
days  for  treatment,  then  resumed  his  work.     When  seen  at  his 
home  some  weeks  later,  he  was  very  polite,  but  evidently  became 
frightened  and  inclined  to  minimize  the  whole  affair.     He  said 
he  had  worked  through  the  attack,  going  to  another  job,  where  he 
did  plastering  for  a   while.     This,   however,   is  very   doubtful. 
V —  was  born  in  Italy  in  1860.     He  was  a  small  business  man, 
but  losing  all  his  money,  he  came  to  America  in  1901.    He  seems 
to  have  traveled  around  a  good  deal  for  two  years,  doing  nothing 
in  particular,  but  in  1903  settled  in  New  York  and  took  up  paint- 
ing.    He  set  his  weekly  wage  at  $16.     The  hours,  however,  were 
8  per  day  and  -M  per  week,  with  an  hour's  lunch  time  in  summer 
and  half  an  hour  in  winter. 

According  to  V —  his  employer,  while  teaching  him  the  trade, 
also  instructed  him  in  the  matter  of  personal  care.  This 
may  be  due  to  the  more  advanced  scientific  attitude  toward  mat- 
ters of  this  kind  in  Europe,  the  employer  being  himself  an 
Italian.  The  man  eats  a  breakfast  of  coffee  and  bread,  very 
rarely  smokes  a  small  cigar,  and  occasionally  takes  a  few  glasses 
of  wine.  He  leaves  the  workroom  to  eat  most  of  the  time,  and 
washes  usually  in  hot  water,  before  beginning  the  meal.  He 
wears  overalls,  but  does  not  otherwise  change  his  clothes.  He 
wears  a  mustache,  but  no  beard. 

Water  and  soap  powder  to  wash  with  and  cheap  canvas  gloves  to 
work  in  are  the  suggestions  this  man  makes  as  to  what  precaution- 
17 


514  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

ary  devices  he  feels  might  be  beneficial.     He  says  he  retains  no 
ill  effects  of  his  attack. 

Case  No.  81.— Frank  B-: 

A  very  peculiar  case  is  that  of  Frank  B — ,  a  young  painter 
living  on  the  lower  East  Side.  Apart  from  one  severe  attack  of 
lead  colic  in  1903,  he  has  had  no  apparent  disturbances.  But  for 
the  past  ten  years,  beginning  six  years  after  he  took  up  the  trade 
in  his  boyhood,  all  the  finger  nails  of  both  hands  have  been  in  a 
pitiful  condition.  They  are  blackened,  corroded,  and  in  many 
cases  eaten  away  half  way  to  the  quick.  He  has  several  times 
tad  them  treated,  but  their  condition  remains  unimproved.  One 
physician  told  him  plainly  they  would  never  improve  until  he 
stopped  painting.  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  he  said,  "  painting  is  all 
,the  trade  I  know."  In  addition  to  the  corroded  nails,  his  fingers 
frequently  have  spells  of  numbness  or  paralysis,  during  which  it 
is  impossible  for  him  to  hold  or  wield  a  brush. 
,  He  gave  the  union  scale  of  wages  ($22)  for  44  hours'  work. 
The  time  lost  by  B — ,  due  to  his  plumbism,  is  slight,  being 
pnly  a  day  or  a  half  day  at  long  intervals,  but  he  reports  from 
3  to  12  weeks  lost  yearly,  due  to  slack  time.  "  They  rush  us  to 
death  on  the  job,"  he  declared,  "  and  then  worry  us  to  death  by 
making  us  hunt  for  a  new  one." 

B —  is  unmarried.  He  was  born  in  Roumania  in  1879, 
coming  to  this  country  before  his  tenth  year.  No  instructions 
were  ever  given  him  as  to  the  insidious  and  far-reaching  poison  he 
,was  working  with,  or  how  to  guard  against  it,  nor  were  any  such 
instructions  posted  in  any  place  he  worked.  He  is  accustomed 
,to  eating  a  light  breakfast,  smokes  a  package  of  tobacco  per  day, 
in  a  pipe,  and  drinks  daily  two  glasses  of  beer.  He  is  wise 
enough  never  to  eat  in  the  place  he  is  working  in  if  he  can  help 
it,  and  always  washes  his  hands  carefully  in  cold  water  before  a 
meal.  He  wears  overalls  over  his  clothes  while  working  and 
keeps  the  same  clothes  on  after  quitting  work.  He  uses  little 
/canned  goods  and  there  is  no  adequate  non-industrial  cause  for  his 
being  "  leaded."  The  precautionary  devices  his  employers  have 
favored  him  with  are  limited  to  cold  water  for  washing  purposes, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  515 

.which  he  thinks  might  well  be  supplemented  with  a  hot  water 
installation,  giving  a  full  hour  for  lunch,  and  providing  adequate 
ventilation.  "  Closet  work,"  as  he  calls  it  —  the  painting  in  a 
close,  shut-in  room,  with  pure  white  lead,  in  bathroom  and  clothes 
closets,  he  looks  upon  as  the  most  dangerous. 

Case  No.  82. —  Joseph  M — : 

oTorty  years  old,  has  worked  for  the  same  painting  firm  since 
he  was  nineteen.  Thirteen  years  ago  he  had  a  slight  attack  of 
lead  poisoning.  Since  then  he  has  had  three  very  serious  attacks, 
and  to-day  is  so  badly  leaded  the  doctors  say  he  will  never  be  a 
well  man.  He  is  not  able  to  work  more  than  four  and  a  half 
days  weekly,  because  of  wrist  drop.  His  left  foot  is  partially 
paralyzed,  no  feeling  in  it  at  all.  He  suffers  so  from  dizziness  that 
he  can  do  no  outside  painting  where  it  is  necessary  to  use  scaffold- 
ing. Lameness  in  the  muscles  of  the  right  hand  has  caused  the 
hand  to  become  twisted  and  distorted.  His  appetite  is  poor  — 
rarely  eats  but  the  lightest  breakfast.  Claims  he  is  fond  of  alco- 
holics and  never  drinks  less  than  three  pints  of  beer  daily.  In 
appearance  he  is  white  and  anemic.  Both  children  and  their 
mother  are  healthy.  The  man  claims  that  having  but  one-half 
hour  for  lunch,  and  only  cold  water  with  which  to  wash,  it  was 
impossible  for  the  men  to  properly  clean  their  hands,  and  that  he 
was  certain  his  own  poisoning  was  the  direct  result  of  eating  with 
hands  covered  with  lead. 

Case  No.  83.—  Fritz  H—: 

Was  born  in  Basel,  Switzerland,  in  the  year  1842.  His  father 
had  followed  the  trade  of  painter  before  him  and  the  son  naturally 
enough  entered  the  same  trade.  Mrs.  H —  remembers  very  well 
when  they  were  married,  that  his  father  warned  her  of  the  dangers 
of  the  painting  business  and  asked  her  to  see  to  it  that  he  always 
took  proper  care  of  himself.  They  came  to  this  country  about 
1871,  and  H— -  pursued  his  trade  in  this  country.  Like  all 
painters,  ke  worked  here  and  tkere  for  one  painter  and  then  an- 
other. During  his  entire  life  lie  enjoyed  tke  beat  of  kealth  until 
he  was  suddenly  stricken,  about  nine  days  before  his  death,  with 


516  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

acute  plumbism.  He  had  never,  up  to  this  time,  had  any  of  the 
symptoms  of  lead  poisoning.  Even  then  he  did  not  go  to  bed,  but 
remained  at  home  and  walked  around.  His  hands  and  fingers 
became  paralyzed  and  he  had  intense  pains  in  his  ankles  and 
instep,  and  his  big  toe  turned  black  and  blue.  During  the  last 
few  days  he  was  mentally  unbalanced. 

Mr.  H —  took  excellent  care  of  himself,  washing  carefully  and 
changing  his  clothing  frequently.  He  always  recognized  the  dan- 
ger of  his  profession  and  for  this  reason  took  extraordinary  pre- 
cautions. The  last  job  he  was  in  before  his  attack  was  the  paint- 
ing and  enameling  of  some  small  rooms  and  closets  in  a  big  apart- 
ment house.  Here  he  had  to  put  on  a  coat  of  white  paint  and 
then  sandpaper  it,  later  putting  on  one  other  coat  and  sand- 
papering it  down.  "Still  later  he  put  on  the  enamel. 

He  was  a  union  man,  worked  the  regulation  44  hours  a  week, 
eight  hours  per  day.  One  hour  for  lunch  in  summer  and  one- 
half  hour  in  winter.  For  this  he  received  $4  per  day.  He  was 
abstemious  in  his  habits,  smoked  some  and  drank  a  pint  of  beer 
now  and  then. 

Case  No.  84- —  George  K — : 

In  1899  K —  was  occupied  in  a  painting  job  in  New  York 
city  which  involved  the  scraping  off  of  large  quantities  of 
old  paint.  His  knuckles  became  cut  and  chafed,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  his  hands  had  swelled  to  twice  their  natural  size. 
The  knuckles  festered  and  ulcerated,  and  his  hands  had  to  be 
carried  in  slings  for  six  weeks.  The  physician  who  treated  him 
said  that  undoubtedly  the  lead  had  worked  in  through  the  cuts  in 
the  knuckles,  poisoning  the  tissue.  Although  K —  is  an  old 
man,  this  is  the  only  trouble  he  has  had  which  he  can  definitely 
trace  to  lead. 

He  was  born  in  Kinselan,  Germany,  in  1844.  He  was  married 
twice.  The  first  wife  had  one  child  still  born  while  K —  was 
painting,  and  four  of  the  children  of  the  second  wife  died  be- 
tween the  ages  of  two  and  five. 

K —  experimented  with  several  occupations  in  Germany,  but 
when  he  came  to  America  apprenticed  himself  to  a  painter.  This 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  517 

he  completed  in  1870,  but  did  not  enter  the  trade  immediately, 
driving  a  truck  for  the  fire  department  some  time.  He  has 
worked  at  the  painter's  trade  thirty-one  years.  In  this  time  hs 
remembered  losing  only  24  weeks  altogether  due  to  unemployment, 
a  remarkable  record  if  correctly  recalled.  In  this  period  came  the 
six  weeks  attack  of  poisoned  hands  already  mentioned!  The  pay 
during  the  latter  part  of  this  period  is  given  as  $22  per  week, 
44  hours  work,  with  one  hour  daily  for  lunch.  Since  1909  K — 
has  been  custodian  of  the  union  headquarters. 

K —  used  to  wear  a  full  beard.  He  looks  old  and  bent,  but 
was  apparently  once  stalwart  and  strong.  For  breakfast  every 
day  he  consumes  meat,  potatoes  and  coffee,  uses  no  alcohol,  but 
smokes  a  pipe.  Xo  instructions  as  to  the  danger  of  the  trade 
were  ever  given  him,  or  posted  up  where  he  works,  and  hot  or 
cold  water  is  all  the  protection  he  has  ever  found  extended  to 
him  or  his  brother  painters.  He  eats  in  the  workroom  after  a 
wash  in  the  water,  either  cold  or  hot,  which  is  furnished.  Wears 
overalls,  leaving  the  rest  of  his  clothing  unchanged.  The  most 
needed  improvement  seems  to  him  to  have  the  employers  put 
water  in  the  buildings  early  in  the  construction. 

The  only  permanent  effect  in  Kruger's  case  is  a  stiffness  of  the 
hands. 

Case  No.  85.—  Paul  T—: 

Is  a  native  of  Wurtemburg,  Germany,  and  has  been  a  painter 
since  he  was  ten  years  of  age.  He,  like  many  another  young 
German,  has  had  the  "  wanderlust,"  and  has  wandered  in  Ger- 
many, Switzerland,  France  and  Africa  (Tunis.)  In  the  latter 
place  he  met  his  wife,  and  they  were  married  in  1892.  One  year 
later  he  came  to  the  United  States.  (1893.) 

He  had  his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning  in  Paris,  where  he 
was  doing  some  fine  interior  decorating,  which  he  described  as 
Louis  XTV  style.  He  had  been  working  long  hours,  from  6:00 
a.  m.  to  11:00  p.  m.  It  was  after  this  time  that  he  went  to 
Tunis,  and  later  to  Paris,  and  finding  no  work  there  came  to  the 
United  States.  He  immediately  found  work  in  a  large  apartment 
house  that  gave  him  employment  until  the  following  spring.  He 
then  got  employment  as  a  house  painter  and  decorator  at  the 
Hotel  V — ,  where  he  remained  twelve  and  one-half  years.  Here 


518  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

lie  did  painting  and  decorating  work  of  the  finer  sort  and  had 
charge  of  a  large  gang  of  men  who  were  under  his  direction. 
When  the  hotel  went  out  of  business,  he  did  several  jobs  for 
small  houses  in  Jersey.  His  first  attack  in  this  country  came 
when  he  was  working  at  the  Hotel  P — .  A  strike  had  delayed 
the  work  and  when  the  men  came  back  they  were  pushed  to  the 
limit.  While  working  on.  the  decorations  in  one  of  the  large 
banquet  halls  he  was  stricken  with  lead  colic  and  was  disabled  for 
four  weeks.  His  work  from  that  time  forth  became  rather 
irregular,  although  he  worked  for  one  or  two  firms.  Most  of  his 
work  was  of  a  fine  grade  and  he  did  considerable  work  in  private 
houses  where  it  was  necessary  to  use  white  lead,  to  sandpaper 
and  to  stripple  the  work.  Last  March  be  got  a  job  at  the  new 
F —  Theatre,  where  he  was  employed  on  the  interior  decorations. 
He  held  this  for  a  couple  of  months,  and  then  got  a  job  doing  some 
exterior  painting.  After  a  short  illness,  he  found  work  at  the 
G —  Club  House.  Here  he  was  engaged  on  the  big  banquet 
hall  and  was  working  steadily  and  very  hard.  The  work  was  of 
the  very  finest  quality,  and  he  had  just  about  completed  it  and 
was  ready  to  varnish  when  he  "  keeled  over."  He  says  he  does 
not  know  how  he  got  home,  the  attack  was  so  sudden  and  so 
complete.  Since  that  time  (July  1)  he  has  been  out  of  work,  almost 
wholly  incapacitated.  His  left  hand  is  almost  wholly  useless  (he 
uses  both  hands  in  painting  and  is  left  handed),  and  his  right  is 
partially  affected.  His  knees  and  ankles  are  also  swollen  and 
give  him  considerable  pain.  He  says  that  after  he  had  his  last 
attack  his  whole  body  seemed  to  be  stuck  with  pins  and  needles. 
He  has  always  been  scrupulously  clean  and  has  worked  carefully 
and  taken  good  care  of  himself.  He  described  how,  when  work- 
ing at  the  F —  Theatre,  he  had  to  eat  in  the  same  room  where 
he  worked,  >and  how  he  would  only  partially  unwrap  his  sand- 
wich and  eat  it  out  of  the  paper  to  prevent  his  hands  from 
touching  it.  Very  few  facilities  are  ever  provided  for  workmen 
and  the  short  lunch  hour,  especially  in  summer  time,  makes  clean- 
liness more  impossible  than  godliness.  He  wears  a  thin  mustache, 
smokes  a  pipe,  drinks  a  pint  of  beer  every  evening. 

He  is  very  intelligent  about  his  work,   and  .he  brought  out 
clearly  the    dangerous    substances,    laying    special    stress  on  th« 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  519 

qualities  of  white  lead  which  were  the  worst.  He  also  decried 
the  use  of  cheap  turpentine  which  aided  the  poisonous  lead.  He 
belongs  to  the  union  and  has  worked  to  regulate  hours,  and  has 
received  union  wages.  He  declares,  however,  that  the  bosses 
overwork  the  men  whom  they  pay  $4.00  per  day,  and  they  get 
little  time  for  rest  or  to  wash. 

Case  No.  86. —  Marcus  R — : 

A  stocky,  swarthy  man,  with  a  heavy  black  mustache,  is  Marcus 
R — ,  who  started  in  life  as  a  shoemaker  in  Warsaw,  but,  not 
sticking  to  his  last,  has  embraced  the  painter's  trade  and  with  it 
its  ills  —  colic,,  cramps,  paralysis  of  the  wrist  and  arm,  and  mad- 
dening inflammatory  pains  in  the  knee. 

R — was  born  in  Warsaw  (Russia)  in  1873.  He  married 
in  this  country  in  1898,  his  wife  now  being  44  years  old  and 
having  borne  him  seven  children.  One  of  these  died  in  its  first 
year,  in  1902,  of  summer  complaint,  and  another  almost  as  soon 
as  born,  in  1907,  being  deprived  of  its  mother  through  her  own 
illness.  Xothing  was  found  to  indicate  that  either  of  these  two 
deaths  was  due  to  lead  poisoning.  The  other  five  children,  aged 
11  to  1,  are  all  alive  and  well. 

To  return  to  R — 's  industrial  history,  he  started  his  career  as 
a  wage  earner  at  the  age  of  nine,  in  M —  J — 's  shoe-making  en- 
porium  in  Warsaw.  After  serving  his  apprenticeship,  he  received 
4  to  5  rubles($2  —  $2.50)  a  week  as  a  laster,  working  69  hours  a 
week.  He  says  he  lost  no  time  while  thus  employed,  but  in  1902 
threw  up  the  whole  job  and  came  to  America. 

Here  he  somehow  fell  into  the  painting  trade.  For  four  years 
he  worked  at  this,  receiving  on  the  average  $9  for  a  week  of  48 
hours.  Then  a  period  of  slack  time  sent  him  back  to  shoemaking; 
but  the  $4  to  $5  procurable  in  this  way  for  a  58  hour  week  failed 
to  appeal  to  him,  and  within  a  month  he  had  hunted  up  new  em- 
ployment at  the  less  ill-paid  but  more  dangerous  trade  of  painting. 
From  January,  1907,  to  the  present  he  has  stuck  to  this,  his  present 
employer  being  J —  L — . 

R —  has  now  been  ailing  with  colic,  wrist  paralysis  and  pains 
in  the  knee,  on  and  off  for  five  years.  No  warning  of  the  dangers 


520  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

of  the  trade  was  ever  given  him,  nor  instruction  for  self- 
protection.  No  safety  devices  have  ever  been  known  to  be  applied 
on  the  jobs  he  was  sent  to.  He  eats  breakfast  regularly,  smokes 
a  package  of  cigarettes  a  day  and  imbibes  perhaps  a  pint  of  beer. 
As  a  rule  he  cannot  help  eating  right  "  on  the  job,"  washing  his 
hands  first  with  hot  or  cold  water  when  either  is  available,  change 
of  clothing  is  limited  to  the  use  of  overalls.  No  new  water  pipes 
have  been  installed  in  his  residence,  and  he  very  seldom  eats 
canned  goods.  No  other  cause  can  be  descried  for  his  "  leaded  " 
condition  than  the  occupation  at  which  he  earns  his  bread. 

Case  No.  87.—  Martin  W-: 

Is  an  intelligent  and  progressive  young  man,  was  born  in  Kal- 
vary,  Russia,  in  1872,  of  Jewish  parents.  He  never  married, 
finding  his  hands  full  earning  a  living  for  himself.  He  lives  on 
the  lower  East  Side  of  New  York  city,  and  is  an  influential  mem- 
ber of  his  local  of  the  Brotherhood  of  Painters,  Paperhangers  and 
Decorators.  Painting,  his  only  occupation,  he  took  up  22  years 
ago,  in  this  country,  working  for  nine  years  steadily  for  the  same 
employer.  In  February,  1898,  slack  time  caused  him  and  this 
"boss"  to  part  company,  and  since  that  time  W —  has  shared 
the  common  lot  of  the  painters,  hardly  ever  having  the  same  em- 
ployer for  more  than  a  month  or  two  at  a  time.  He  is  at  present 
working  as  a  general  painter. 

W — 's  first  siege  of  lead  poisoning  came  seven  years  ago,  when, 
after  15  years  at  the  trade,  he  was  suddenly  seized  with  general 
paralysis.  After  a  week  flat  in  bed,  accompanied  by  vigorous 
treatment  with  epsom  salts,  he  was  able  to  crawl  about,  and  made 
his  way  to  the  New  York  Post-Graduate  Hospital,  where  three 
months'  electrical  treatment  as  an  out-patient  fairly  restored  him 
to  vigor.  The  debility  resulting  from  his  seizure,  however,  has 
lasted  down  to  the  present  date.  He  is  drawn  and  bent,  his  face 
weazened  before  its  time.  Added  to  his  chronic  afflictions  is  also 
arthritis  in  nearly  every  joint  in  his  body,  manifesting  itself  in 
severe  pains  and  stiffness. 

The  second  poisoning  climax  in  W — 's  life  was  three  years  ago, 
when  he  lost  two  full  months,  due  to  wrist  drop.  All  through 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  521 

April  and  May,  1910,  he  could  not  raise  his  right  hand  and  was 
utterly  unable  to  manipulate  a  brush.  A  repetition  of  the  epsom 
salts  and  electricity  eventually  gave  him  back  the  use  of  his  wage- 
earning  hand,  and  since  then  he  has  had  no  acute  attacks,  although 
the  chronic  debility  and  arthritis  are  still  with  him. 

In  common  with  all  other  painters,  W — 's  face  was  a  study 
when  asked  what  precautionary  measures  had  been  taken  to  pro- 
tect the  workmen  on  the  jobs  he  had  worked  on,  and  whether  the 
employer  had  given  any  warning  as  to  the  dangers  of  the  trade. 
When  he  could  speak,  a  vociferous  and  expressive  "  ]S"o !  "  was 
the  answer.  When  it  came  to  protective  devices,  however,  he  had 
many  to  offer,  namely,  in  the  line  of  affording  adequate  facilities 
for  personal  cleanliness.  "  Let  the  employer  put  in  hot  water, 
soap  and  towels  for  us,"  he  said,  "  and  give  us  time  to  use  them, 
and  we'll  be  all  right.  When  a  man's  only  got  half  an  hour  for 
dinner,  he  can't  very  well  spend  the  15  minutes  necessary  properly 
to  get  the  paint  off  his  hands  and  out  from  under  his  nails.  If 
the  painters  got  a  chance  to  wash  at  noon,  then  by  careful  brushing 
of  the  teeth  and  keeping  the  bowels  free,  there  would  be  little 
chance  of  their  getting  poisoned." 

Aware  of  the  added  susceptibility  to  lead-poisoning  that  comes 
with  an  empty  stomach,  W —  made  it  a  practice  almost  invariably 
to  have  a  meal  before  going  to  work  in  the  morning.  He  con- 
fessed to  smoking  15  cigarettes  daily,  but  was  little  addicted  to 
spirits,  a  glass  of  beer  or  whiskey  once  or  twice  a  week  being  his 
limit.  As  a  rule  he  ate  in  a  lunch  room,  leaving  the  job  if  at  all 
possible,  and  always  washing  with  hot  water  in  the  few  cases  it 
was  available,  otherwise  with  cold.  His  change  of  clothing  con- 
sisted of  pulling  on  a  pair  of  overalls,  or  in  hot  weather  substitut- 
ing these  for  his  trousers.  Canned  goods  were  rarely  used  in  his 
home,  no  new  water  pipes  had  been  installed  there,  and  there 
was  no  reason  to  believe  he  got  "  leaded  "  in  any  other  way  than 
through  his  occupation.  He  wears  a  mustache,  but  no  beard. 
He  gave  the  regulation  statement,  $22  a  week  and  44  hours. 

Case  No.  88  —  TuUl  B—  : 

Weight,  180  pounds  at  17,  130  pounds  at  36 — such  is  the 
progress  backward  of  Tubal  B — ,  for  26  years  a  painter. 


522  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Thirteen  years  ago,  after  13  years  at  the  trade,  B —  had  his 
first  plumbism  attack.  Suddenly  one  night  he  was  seized  with 
cramps,  nausea  and  vomiting.  His  appetite  was  gone,  he  became 
subject  to  spells  of  having  everything  go  dark  before  his  eyes. 
This  state  of  affairs  lasted  eight  months,  when  he  was  able  to 
resume  work.  Since  then,  regularly  at  the  return  of  cold  weather, 
he  begins  to  undergo  a  similar,  although  not  always  so  keen  an 
experience.  This  lasts  for  several  months,  and  wears  away  with 
the  coming  of  spring.  Seven  years  ago  paralysis  caught  him  in 
the  arm.  Eight  and  four,  and  again  at  three  years  ago,  he  had 
the  characteristic  blue  line  on  the  gums,  but  no  traces  of  it  can 
be  made  out  at  present.  So  many  and  long-recurrent  seizures 
have  now  left  him  with  chronic  anemia  and  neuritis;  of  the  latter 
he  had  a  particularly  excruciating  attack  last  May. 

B —  was  born  of  Jewish  parents  in  Russia,  in  1874.  In 
1899  he  married,  his  wife  being  then  18.  His  three  children 
enjoy  average  health  and  apparently  have  inherited  no  weakness 
from  their  father.  He  never  saw  any  precautionary  de- 
vices employed  to  save  painters  from  lead,  but  suggested 
plenty  of  water,  soap,  towels,  and  above  all,  time  to 
use  them.  In  the  customary  meal  time  of  half  an 
hour  the  painter  has  little  chance  to  protect  his  health. 
No  instructions  or  warnings  for  self-protection  were  ever 
given  him  by  his  employer;  he  eats  breakfast,  as  a  rule; 
smokes  15  to  20  cigarettes  daily;  takes  a  glass  of  beer  perhaps 
once  a  week;  washes  in  cold  water  before  lunch;  wears  overalls 
on  the  job;  uses  very  little  canned  goods;  wears  a  mustache;  has 
no  new  water-pipes  in  his  house;  and  there  is  no  causo  for  his 
poisoned  condition  evident  except  his  becoming  leaded  through 
painting. 

Case  No.  89. —  John  R — : 

Thirty-two  years  old,  married,  and  living  in  a  quiet  corner  of 
the  Borough  of  Queens,  began  his  career  as  a  wage-earner  in  June, 
1895,  as  an  employee  of  one  E — ,  a  boss  painter,  in  Boston.  For 
nine  years,  till  November,  1904,  R —  worked  for  this  one  man. 
In  the  nine  years  he  lost  about  50  weeks,  due  in  part  to  slack  time, 
in  part  to  illness. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  523 

He  turned  lumberman,  going  to  West  R — ,  Vt,  where  he 
worked  for  the  West  li —  Lumber  Co.,  a  60  hour  week  for  $25. 
A  shut-down  of  the  plant  sent  him  back  to  painting. 

Rice  says  his  illness  varies  largely  with  the  sort  of  paint  he  is 
using.  When  working  with  lead  paint  he  at  once  and  invariably 
is  attacked  by  pain  and  swelling  in  the  feet,  cramps,  severe  head- 
aches, vomiting,  nausea  and  temporary  lameness  of  the  wrist. 
He  often  has  to  go  to  bed  for  a  day  or  two  at  a  time.  He  is  a 
powerfully  built  man,  but  says  the  lead  keels  him  right  over. 
Paint  containing  no  lead  does  not  bother  him. 

Due  to  this  experience,  R—  forcibly  advocates  experimentation 
to  discover  a  substitute  for  lead  in  paints.  This  would  strike  right 
at  the  heart  of  the  matter.  In  the  meantime,  or  failing  of  this, 
he  advocates  compelling  the  employers  to  see  to  it  that  a  supply 
of  water  keeps  pace  with  the  painters  on  a  building,  the  supplying 
of  towels,  and  a  longer  period  for  lunch. 

R —  was  born  in  Russia,  of  Jewish  parents,  in  1879.  His  wife, 
now  30,  he  married  in  1902.  They  have  two  healthy  children. 
No  warning  was  ever  given  him  against  the  dangers  of  the  work, 
no  protective  devices  were  ever  seen  on  the  buildings  where  he  was 
employed.  He  is  clean  shaven,  usually  has  breakfast,  consumes 
10  cigarettes  and  one  glass  of  beer  daily,  and  changes  only  his 
overalls.  He  is  careful  to  eat  in  a  separate  room  from  where  he 
is  working,  and  uses  benzine  in  default  of  water  to  wash  with. 
His  family  uses  little  canned  goods,  there  are  no  new  water  pipes, 
and  his  plumbism  can  be  laid  only  to  the  door  of  his  trade. 

Case  No.  90. —  Edward  I — : 

Colic,  wrist  drop,  lasting  from  two  hours  to  two  weeks,  sick 
headache,  sharp  pains  in  joints,  darkness  before  the  eyes,  floating 
specks  in  field  of  vision,  inflamed  and  watery  eyes,  with  drooping 
eyelids,  lame  spells  of  arms  and  legs,  chronic  kidney  trouble, 
chronic  gastritis,  operated  on  three  years  ago  for  appendicitis,  but 
strongly  doubting  the  reality  of  the  appendicitis  —  so  reads  the 
history  of  Edward  I — . 

I —  was  born  in  Russia  in  1862.  His  parents  were  Jewish 
In  1883  he  married,  his  wife  having  been  born  in  1864.  They 
have  had  seven  children,  of  whom  the  youngest,  G — ,  aged  nine, 


524  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

has  a  weakness  of  the  wrists  and  hands  closely  resembling  his 
father's.  Two  other  babies  died  in  their  first  year  through  mal- 
nutrition. Painting  was  the  first  trade  I —  took  up,  and  he  has 
stuck  to  it.  He  does  general  inside  and  outside  work  and  paper- 
hanging,  his  present  employer  being  M —  P — ,  a  boss  painter  of 
the  Bronx.  The  wages  and  hours  were  again  stated  as  $22  and 
44,  but  even  if  that  were  true,  from  six  to  eight  weeks  are  lost 
yearly  from  the  effects  of  the  lead  poisoning. 

I —  was  greatly  amused  when  asked  whether  his  em- 
ployers had  ever  warned  him  of  the  risks  of  the  trade.  He  had 
never  heard  of  any  protective  devices  being  used;  his  suggestions 
were  the  usual  ones  of  plentiful  water  supply  and  more  time  to 
utilize  it.  He  finds  himself  unable  to  eat  much  breakfast,  but 
always  takes  at  least  a  glass  of  milk  before  starting  to  work.  One 
package  of  cigarettes  and  one  glass  of  beer  per  day  are  his  limit ; 
a  little  wine  occasionally  on  festive  occasions.  Sometimes  he  eats 
in  the  work-room,  but  not  if  he  can  help  it.  Cold  water  is  the 
usual  thing  for  washing,  and  no  change  of  clothing  is  made  beyond 
overalls.  Canned  goods  are  almost  unknown  in  his  home,  and 
there  are  no  new  water-pipes.  The  disease  from  which  he  suffers 
can  have  come  from  no  other  source  than  his  occupation. 

In  spite  of  his  serious  illness,  he  looks  well ;  he  wears  a  mus- 
tache, which  is  slightly  tinged  with  grey,  like  his  hair. 

Case  No.  91.— Fred  J — : 

Numbness  in  arms  and  wrist,  headache,  darkness  before  the 
eyes  and  colic  for  several  hours  or  a  day  are  the  peculiar  ailments 
from  which  painter  Fred  J —  suffers  when  an  attack  of  lead 
poisoning  is  on.  He  has  had  a  more  or  less  severe  attack  nearly 
every  year,  as  the  cold  weather  draws  on  —  probably,  he  thinks, 
because  of  more  inside  work  being  done  then.  So  far  he  has  been 
able  to  work  through  all  his  sick  spells. 

J— -  was  born  in  Russia  in  1883,  of  Jewish  parents.  He 
married  in  1909,  his  wife  being  then  21  years  of  age.  They  have 
no  children.  From  January,  1902,  when  he  began  working,  up 
to  January,  1907,  J —  was  a  cap-maker  in  Russia,  being  paid 
6  rubles  ($3)  a  week  for  18  hours  a  day.  The  young  workman 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  525 

was  a  Revolutionist,  so  the  Russian  government  laid  its  strong 
hand  on  him  and  threw  him  into  prison.  Released  in  some  way 
after  four  months,  he  embarked  for  America,  and  in  September, 
1907,  found  him  employed  by  the  painting  firm  of  L —  and  Co., 
where  he  still  is. 

«T —  does  both  interior  and  exterior  work.  He  makes  a 
practice  of  eating  breakfast  before  going  to  work,  but  does  not 
change  his  clothes  at  the  job  any  more  than  to  pull  on  a  pair  of 
overalls.  He  wears  a  mustache,  uses  no  tobacco,  but  takes  two 
or  three  glasses  of  beer  weekly.  He  washes  his  hands  with  cold 
water  whenever  he  can  get  it,  which,  he  says,  is  rare  on  new 
buildings. 

He  recommends  that  contractors  be  compelled  to  lay  in  a  water 
supply  for  use  of  painters,  and  thinks  that  a  clean  lunch  room, 
free  from  paint,  would  be  of  benefit.  He  has  lost  no  large  amount 
of  time  through  lead  illness,  but  is  always  under  some  form 
of  annoyance  from  it,  and  thinks  it  cannot  be  too  strenuously 
guarded  against. 

Case  No.  92. —  Samson  K — : 

Living  on  the  Upper  East  Side  of  Manhattan,  was  born  in 
Minsk,  Russia,  of  Russian  Jewish  parents  in  1879.  In  1905  he 
married,  his  wife  being  born  in  1886.  Two  children  have  come 
to  them,  E — ,  born  in  190(5,  and  G — ,  in  1909.  Both  are  in 
fair  health  and  strength. 

Since  his  sixteenth  year  K —  has  been  a  painter,  it  being  his 
first  and  only  occupation.  Since  May,  1911,  he  has  been  em- 
ployed by  S — .  He  does  inside  and  outside  work. 

Lead  poisoning  has  manifested  itself  in  him  in  paralysis  of  the 
arm  and  severe  arthritis  pains,  lasting  at  various  times  from  two 
days  to  a  week.  He  loses  little  time,  however,  for  the  necessity 
of  earning  a  livelihood  for  his  family  drives  him  out  to  work  even 
when  he  is  really  not  in  condition  for  it.  No  precautionary  de- 
vices were  in  use  on  the  buildings  where  he  worked,  but  among 
those  possible  he  laid  great  stress  on  the  necessity  of  having  water 
to  wash  up  with.  Often  on  new  construction  work  painters  have 
to  go  all  day  without  a  drop  to  drink,  much  less  to  wash  with. 


526  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

The  inevitable  consequence  is  eating  with  dirty  or  imperfectly 
cleaned  hands,  with  the  resultant  ingestion  of  lead.  Hot  water 
and  soap  would  infinitely  lessen  this  danger. 

No  warning  or  instructions  as  to  the  dangers  of  the  occupation 
;vere  ever  given  him.  He  always  breakfasts  before  going  to  work, 
smokes  about  a  pack  (10)  of  cigarettes  a  day,  and  takes  in  the  same 
time  perhaps  two  small  glasses  of  whiskey.  He  nearly  always  eats 
in  the  place  where  he  is  working,  thinking  it  unavoidable,  but 
tries  always  to  wash  up  before  lunch,  using  hot  water  in  the  few 
cases  when  it  is  procurable.  He  wears  overalls  over  his  trousers  in 
winter  and  instead  of  them  in  summer,  and  always  removes  his 
coat  when  at  work ;  otherwise  makes  no  change  of  clothing.  He  is 
clean  shaven,  seldom  uses  canned  goods,  no  new  water  pipes  have 
been  put  in  at  his  home,  and  his  poisoning  can  be  attributed  to  no 
cause  other  than  his  occupation. 

Case  No.  93.— Paul  H—: 

Suffering  from  severe  intestinal  cramps  at  intervals  for  two 
years,  Paul  H — ,  a  rugged  old  man  now  aged  47,  but  looking 
60,  was  told  in  1909  that  he  had  appendicitis,  and  sent  to  the 
Presbyterian  Hospital.  There  the  fact  that  he  was  a  painter, 
used  to  doing  inside  work  exclusively,  came  out,  the  diagnosis  was 
changed  to  lead  poisoning,  and  he  was  removed  to  Bellevue,  where 
he  staid  for  14  days.  All  through  this  attack  he  had  f  aintness,  diz- 
ziness, severe  headaches  and  general  debility.  His  toenails  also 
turned  black  and  were  extremely  painful.  Since  his  discharge 
from  the  hospital  he  has  been  fairly  well,  except  for  splitting  head- 
aches which  occasionally  overtake  him,  and  frequently  a  spell  of 
dizziness  while  on  a  ladder. 

H —  was  born  in  Galacia  in  1864.  His  parents  were  Gala- 
cian  Jews.  At  the  age  of  12  he  began  to  learn  the  painters'  trade, 
and  has  stuck  to  it  ever  since.  When  asked  whether  he  did  not 
realize  the  dangers,  he  replied :  "  Of  course,  but  what  can  I  do  ? 
Bread  must  be  had."  Even  at  that,  he  lost  ten  weeks  in  the  past 
year,  due  to  slack  time.  Every  year  he  says  he  is  forced  to  lose 
as  much  or  more  when  he  is  able  and  willing  to  work.  This  pre- 
cariousness  of  occupation  he  declared  to  be  common  to  all  painters, 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  527 

except  a  few  who  might  be  able  to  find  permanent  berths  for 
themselves. 

H —  has  one  child,  a  daughter  of  20,  who  has  always  been 
large  and  robust.  His  wife  was  born  in  the  same  year  he  was. 
He  always  eats  breakfast  before  working,  uses  about  one-half  a 
package  of  smoking  tobacco  a  day,  and  in  the  course  of  the  week 
may  take  two  or  three  glasses  of  beer ;  he  drinks  whiskey  in  small 
quantities  at  long  intervals.  When  lunch  time  comes  he  always, 
if  possible,  goes  to  a  saloon  to  eat.  If  he  must  remain  on  the  job, 
he  is  very  careful  to  keep  his  edibles  out  of  contact  with  paint 
or  paint  dust.  He  washes  with  hot  water  where  obtainable.  He 
wears  a  mustache  and  pulls  overalls  on  over  his  trousers.  His 
coat  and  vest  he  usually  removes,  but  that  is  all,  except  in  summer, 
when  he  takes  off  his  trousers  before  putting  on  the  overalls.  No 
canned  goods  are  consumed  in  his  home,  and  his  lead  illness  can 
be  due  to  none  but  industrial  causes. 

Case  No.  94- — Frank  G — : 

A  painter  by  trade,  has  had  two  serious  attacks  of  lead  poison- 
ing, contracted  while  working  under  unfavorable  conditions.  He 
suffered  from  his  first  attack  while  under  the  employ 
of  S—  &  Co.,  painters,  in  November,  1898.  Mr. 
G —  worked  for  this  company  at  several  different  times,  amount- 
ing, he  thinks,  to  about  ten  years.  The  nature  of  this  attack  was 
colic  —  a  general  stiffness  and  a  feeling  like  rheumatism  through- 
out the  body.  The  duration  was  three  weeks,  though  he  thinks  he 
was  absent  from  work  only  from  November  9-18.  At  about  this 
time  his  daughter,  0 — ,  born  April,  1898,  also  suffered  from  an 
attack  of  lead  poisoning.  The  doctor  found  she  had  chewed  the 
corner  of  a  tile  which  was  among  her  playthings.  The  child  re- 
covered and  lived  until  1901,  when  her  death  was  caused  by 
diphtheria. 

Mr.  G —  and  his  wife  were  born  in  Germany  in  1868  and  in 
1876,  respectively,  both  of  German  parentage.  They  were  mar- 
ried September  16,  1894.  Mrs.  G — ,  who  is  a  nurse,  seems  to  be 
a  strong  woman,  and  says  her  health  has  always  been  good.  There 
are  two  daughters  in  excellent  health  and  strength  —  K — , 


528  OCCUPATIONAL:.  DISEASES. 

born  April,    1895,  and  W — ,  August,   1900.        There  were  no 
miscarriages  and  no  other  children  lost  except  the  one  mentioned. 

The  second  attack  occurred  while  G —  was  employed  in  the 
capacity  of  painting  and  scraping  dry  paint  at  S — ,  L.  I.,  G — 
began  work  at  this  place  October  17th,  1908,  left  with  a  very 
severe  attack  of  lead  colic  December  22,  1908,  returned  to  work 
January  9th,  1909,  and  was  laid  off  February  1st,  1909.  There 
was  a  threatened  strike.  Mr.  G —  was  spokesman,  and  when 
the  number  of  workers  was  reduced  one-half,  he  was  one  of  those 
to  go.  Beginning  August  24,  1909,  he  was  employed  for  seven 
months  by  J —  F— .  From  May  28th,  1911,  to  July  27th, 
1911,  G —  was  employed  by  F—  B — .,  sign  painters  and 
general  painters.  At  this  time  he  did  enameling,  sandpapering 
and  rubbing.  Between  July  30th  and  November  9th  he  was  em- 
ployed by  four  different  firms.  His  "  decorating "  usually  in- 
cludes painting  white  woodwork,  enameling  and  sandpapering 
paint. 

During  the  time  from  July  30th,  1911,  to  November  9,  1911, 
he  lost  two  weeks  time  because  he  was  unable  to  find  work  when 
the  job  was  finished.  Sometimes  there  was  a  "  lack  of  work  "  on 
account  of  some  delay  in  the  job.  Mr.  G —  is  a  strong  union 
man.  His  wage  is  $22  for  a  44  hour  week. 

He  finds  no  preventive  measures  used  by  companies 
employing  painters.  The  running  water  in  the  building 
is  usually  shut  off.  Two  pails  of  cold  water  may  stand  in  the 
over-crowded  dressing-room  in  which  forty  or  fifty  men  are  sup- 
posed to  wash  their  hands.  One-half  hour  is  the  regulation  time 
for  luncheon.  The  workmen  may  be  on  the  eighth  floor  and  have 
to  hire  the  elevator  men  to  take  them  down.  Sometimes  they  try 
to  clean  their  hands  in  the  pail  of  benzine  which  is  given  them  for 
cleaning  certain  brushes.  The  cold  lunch  has  been  all  the  morn- 
ing in  the  paint-laden  atmosphere.  There  is  no  chance  to  get 
proper  food  or  to  eat  with  any  degree  of  decency.  The  men  are 
rushed  back  to  their  tasks,  weary  and  overstrained.  A  minute  lost 
may  mean  the  loss  of  his  job,  for  each  man  has  a  tasik,  and  the 
ever-watchful  eye  of  the  foreman  means  to  see  this  task  accom- 
plished. Mr.  G —  sees  great  chance  for  improving  conditions. 
He  says  there  should  be  running  water  in  the  building,  with  a 
supply  of  hot  water  at  noon,  and  convenient  clothes  rooms.  That 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  529 

the  men  should  have  enough  time  at  noon  to  get  a  warm  meal 
comfortably.  The  long  hours  of  heavy  work,  with  insufficient 
nourishment  and  rest,  weaken  the  physical  condition  and  make  it 
more  susceptible  to  the  poison.  He  also  says  ventilation  is  sorely 
needed  in  some  cases.  In  many  of  these  places  where  he  has 
worked  the  rooms  have  been  made  very  close,  especially  in  the  cold 
weather,  since  the  enamel  will  harden  too  quickly  if  it  is  too  cold. 
He  says  when  one  opens  the  door  to  enter  it  seems  almost  impos- 
sible to  breathe.  He  eats  a  good  breakfast  before  going  to  work ; 
smokes  a  pipe,  but  not  to  excess,  unless  he  is  overstrained  from  his 
work.  He  occasionally  takes  a  glass  of  beer.  In  the  summer 
season  he  removes  his  overalls  before  coming  home,  at  other  times 
he  removes  them  as  soon  as  he  gets  home.  He  wears  a  mustache, 
but  no  beard.  The  family  seldom  uses  canned  goods,  has  used 
no  new  lead  pipes,  and  cannot  attribute  the  poison  to  other  than 
industrial  causes. 

Case  No.  95  —  John  C — : 

John  C-  -  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1851.  He  came  to  the 
United  States  when  he  was  20  years  of  age,  and  has  lived  in 
New  York  city  ever  since.  He  has  worked  at  the  painters'  trade 
since  he  was  twelve  years  old.  He  married  in  1874  and  they  have 
one  child,  born  in  1879. 

C —  was  employed  by  various  firms  as  a  foreman  painter. 
His  weekly  wages  were  $22.50  for  44  hours  work  —  eight  hours 
a  day  and  four  on  Saturday;  one  hour  allowed  for  lunch. 

His  first  and  only  attack  of  lead  poisoning  occurred  in  1908, 
when  he  suffered  from  pains  in  the  stomach  and  had  trouble  with 
his  gums.  He  has  never  been  well  since,  and  is  now  in  Bellevue 
Hospital,  suffering  from  dropsy. 

C-  -  had  potatoes,  meat  and  coffee  for  breakfast.  He  used 
a  good  deal  of  tobacco,  and  drank  whiskey  and  beer. 

He  was  accustomed  to  eat  in  the  workroom;  he  changed  his 
clothing  on  leaving  work. 

Case  No.  96. —  Fried-rich  R — : 

Came  to  this  country  from  Germany  in  1883,  when  he  was  21 
years  old.  He  was  a  painter  by  trade  and  for  years  he  did  odd 


530  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

jobs,  mostly  painting.     For  the  past  ten  years  he  has  worked  every 
summer  at  the  B —  Institute. 

R —  was  married  in  1889.  They  have  no  children.  The 
wife  had  one  miscarriage,  in  1890. 

R — 's  usual  weekly  wages  are  $22  for  44  hours  work;  eight 
hours  per  day,  four  on  Saturday.  He  has  one  hour  for  lunch.  He 
allows  for  about  20  weeks  idleness  per  year. 

R —  had  his  first  attack  of  lead  colic  in  July,  1893.  He 
had  severe  cramps,  and  in  later  attacks  wrist  drop  developed.  He 
had  attacks  in  1897,  1898  and  1902.  At  the  time  of  the  latter 
attack  he  left  the  city  and  went  on  a  farm  in  New  Jersey  and 
stayed  until  1907.  Here  the  wrist  drop  disappeared  and  R — 
has  had  no  recurrence  of  the  attacks. 

R —  never  received  any  instructions  concerning  the  dangers 
of  the  work.  His  breakfast  consisted  of  meat,  rolls  and  coffee. 
He  usually  washed  in  cold  water  before  eating  and  changed  his 
clothing  on  leaving  work.  He  smoked  cigars  moderately;  drank 
beer  and  whiskey  in  the  morning. 

Case  No.  97. —  Samuel  C — : 

He  is  a  native  of  Austria,  who  came  to  this  country  in  Septem- 
ber, 1892,  and  immediately  took  up  his  trade  of  painting.  From 
1895  to  1905  he  worked  for  a  man  by  the  name  of  S — ,  in 
Brooklyn.  After  1905  he  worked  for  himself.  His  work  was 
largely  interior  painting,  thougjh  he  did  some  outside  work.  Four 
years  after  coming  to  America,  C —  married.  There  have  been 
no  children. 

When  C —  was  employed  by  S —  he  worked  54  hours  a 
week,  nine  hours  per  day.  He  was  idle  about  twelve  weeks  during 
the  year.  His  wages  were  $12  per  week.  When  he  worked  for 
himself  he  had  no  regular  hours  and  earned  about  $10  per  week. 
It  was  necessary  for  his  wife  to  work  in  order  that  they  might  live 
comfortably. 

C —  had  his  first  attack  of  lead  poisoning  in  April,  1909,  and 
was  never  well  after  that.  He  had  a  second  severe  attack  in 
August,  1910.  The  third  attack,  in  August,  1911,  proved  fatal. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  531 

The  symptoms  were  severe  pains  in  the  stomach,  headache  and 
loss  of  appetite. 

C —  had  been  a  strong,  healthy-looking  man  even  after  his 
first  attack  of  lead  poisoning,  so  his  wife  says. 

It  is  evident  that  Mr.  C--  took  no  precautions  to  protect  him- 
self from  the  dangers  of  his  occupation.  He  did  not  realize  these 
dangers  until  the  doctor  told  him,  in  1910.  He  was  accustomed 
to  eat  in  the  workroom  and  usually  did  not  wash  before  eating. 
His  breakfast  consisted  of  eggs,  oatmeal  and  coffee.  He  smoked 
cigarettes  to  excess,  used  whiskey  and  beer  moderately. 


CHAPTER  V 

ANALYSIS  OF  LEAD  POISONING  CASES. 
109  OASES  OF  LEAD  POISONING. 

Of  the  376  cases  of  lead  poisoning  which  were  found  in  the 
city  of  New  York  during  the  years  1909,  1910  and  1911,  109 
were  thoroughly  investigated.  The  results  of  those  investigations 
have  been  tabulated,  and  are  presented  herewith  in  a  series  of 
tables. 

While  the  number  of  these  cases  is  so  small  that  any  conclusions 
based  upon  them  may  possibly  be  fallacious,  yet  they  will  indicate 
the  trend  of  the  situation.  In  the  groups  where  there  are  the 
largest  numbers,  they  will  represent  with  fair  accuracy  the  condi- 
tions that  exist  among  all  the  workers.  Remembering,  there- 
fore, that  the  number  of  cases  here  presented  is  too  small  a  number 
on  which  to  base  large  generalizations,  the  writer  presents  these 
analyses  in  the  hope  of  shedding  a  little  light  on  conditions  as  a 
whole. 

Table  I  shows  the  occupations  of  the  workers  in  various  lead 
industries  and  their  ages  at  the  time  of  the  first  attack  of  lead 
poisoning.  Over  one-half  of  the  workers  are  taken  before  the  age 
of  45  years  —  before,  therefore,  they  have  reached  the  limit  of 
their  productive  power.  It  will  be  noted  that,  on  the  whole,  the 
white  lead  workers  are  attacked  at  an  earlier  age  than  the  paint- 
ers. This  is  probably  due  to  the  greater  virulence  of  the  white 
lead,  and  also  due  to  the  slower  absorption  of  lead  by  the  painters. 

The  nature  of  the  disease  is  described  in  Table  II.  The  cases 
are  divided  between  acute  attacks  and  chronic  cases.  An  aston- 
ishingly large  proportion  of  the  cases,  62  out  of  109,  are  classed  as 
chronic  lead  poisoning,  which  means  that  the  workers  are  habitu- 
ally ill.  One  of  the  most  far-reaching  effects  of  lead  poisoning,  as 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Oliver,  is  its  effect  upon  the  genital  functions, 
particularly  among  women.  Most  of  his  evidence,  however,  is 
concerned  with  women  who  had  actually  worked  in  lead.  The 
'data,  therefore,  showing  the  large  number  of  still-born  children 
and  children  who  did  not  reach  one  or  two  years  of  age,  is  exceed- 
ingly interesting. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  533 

Lead  poisoning  does  not  always  show  itself  in  exactly  the 
same  way.  The  symptoms  vary  from  individual  to  individual. 
Usually  the  "disease  attacks  the  weakest  part,  or  the  part  which 
has  been  used  the  most,  as,  for  example,  the  arm  and  wrist  of 
the  painter.  The  least  severe  form  of  lead  poisoning  is  that  of 
colic.  This  is  often  so  slight  as  to  cause  no  absence  from  work. 
Usually,  however,  the  colic  becomes  more  and  more  severe,  and 
gradually  more  serious  symptoms,  such  as  wrist  drop,  paralysis 
or  encephaleopathy  develop. 

Table  III  aims  to  show  the  character  of  the  lead  poisoning  in 
the  109  cases  which  were  studied.  It  is  very  often  the  case  that  a 
single  individual  might  have  several  symptoms,  and  it  is  evident 
that  almost  all  had  colic.  Six  cases  of  death  were  studied,  djeath 
usually  resulting  from  lead  poisoning  and  a  combination  of  other 
diseases.  The  really  serious  cases  are  those  under  paralysis  and 
wrist  drop.  Here  we  find  the  chronic  cases  where  the  greatest  loss 
of  time  and  wages  is  to  be  found. 

Table  IV,  which  shows  the  wages  of  the  workers  at  the  time  of 
the  attacks,  is  very  illuminating.  It  will  be  noted  that  none  of 
the  white  lead  workers  were  earning  more  than  $13.99  per  week. 
The  old  theory  that  a  man  is  compensated  for  the  risk  he  takes 
seems  to  be  fallacious.  The  painters,  however,  make  fairly  good 
wages,  most  of  them  earning  $22.00  per  week,  which  is  the  regu- 
lar union  wage.  The  painter,  however,  must  average  in  his  yearly 
earnings  at  least  two  months  of  idleness,  which  considerably  re- 
duces his  income.  In  comparison  with  Table  IV,  the  following 
table,  Table  V,  is  very  interesting.  It  aims  to  show  the  amount 
of  earnings  lost  on  account  of  lead  poisoning.  The  economic  loss, 
it  is  quite  evident,  is  a  great  one. 

Table  VI  shows  the  amount  of  time  lost  by  the  workers  in 
various  occupations.  Many  of  them,  it  will  be  noted,  were  un- 
employed from  seven  to  twelve  months;  the  greater  part,  how- 
ever, lost  from  one  to  three  months.  Amplifying  this  information, 
Table  VII  shows  the  length  of  time  the  workers  had  been  em- 
ployed, and  the  amount  of  time  lost.  There  are  a  surprisingly 
large  number  of  workers  who  have  been  employed  less  than  six 
months,  but  who  have  lost  considerable  time  on  account  of  lead 
poisoning. 


534  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

Table  VIII  gives  the  length  of  time  the  men  in  the  various 
occupations  had  been  employed.  While  a  considerable  number  had 
been  employed  six  months  or  less,  still  there  are  large  groups  of 
workers,  even  among  the  white  lead  workers  where  we  should  ex- 
pect to  find  the  greatest  amount  of  casual  labor,  a  considerable 
group  who  have  been  at  the  work  more  than  one  year. 

Probably  the  most  important  preventatives  of  lead  poisoning 
are  the  proper  personal  habits  of  the  workmen.  These  are  de- 
scribed for  this  small  group  of  workers  in  Tables  IX,  X,  XI,  XII, 
XIII.  These  tables,  which  are  self-explanatory,  show  some  very 
'important  facts:  (1)  that  a  very  small  proportion  of  the  men  were 
instructed  as  to  the  dangers  of  lead,  (2)  that  an  even  smaller  pro- 
portion found  warnings  posted  in  their  work  places,  (3)  that  most 
of  the  men  ate  in  the  rooms  where  they  worked,  (4)  that  where 
they  worked  most  of  them  had  to  use  cold  water,  which  is  almost 
useless,  (5)  that  while  some  of  the  men  were  excessive  drinkers 
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ease, and  in  our  metheds  of  preventing  it.  There  is  absolutely  no 
excuse  for  these  men  being  exposed  to  lead  poisoning  and  not 
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fundamental  preventatives,  such  as  warm  water  and  a  place  to 
eat  away  from  the  dangerous  poison. 

Lead  poisoning  is  preventable,  at  least  to  a  large  degree,  and 
the  analysis  of  these  cases  demonstrates  how  careless  employers 
have  been,  how  careless  the  State  Departments  have  permitted  them 
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| 

CHAPTER  VI 

RECOMMENDATIONS. 

This  investigation,  hasty  and  incomplete  as  it  is,  has  demon- 
strated certain  facts.  Facts  which  a  further  investigation  can 
fortify,  but  cannot  disprove. 

The  amount  of  lead  poisoning  is  actually  and  relatively  large. 
While  in  the  course  of  this  investigation  only  376  cases  have  been 
found,  the  limited  sources  of  our  information  make  it  almost  cer- 
tain that  at  least  twice  that  number  of  cases  exist  in  the  city  of 
New  York.  The  cases  which  have  been  carefully  and  fully  fol- 
lowed up  and  about  which  detailed  information  has  been  secured, 
prove  conclusively  that  lead  poisoning  is  a  serious  menace  with 
often  fatal  consequences  to  the  workers.  These  workers  have 
been  found  to  be  employed  in  a  great  variety  of  industries  and 
using  lead  in  many  forms.  Some  of  these  workers  were  engaged 
in  the  manufacture  of  carbonate  and  oxide  of  lead,  some  in  dry 
colors  and  paints,  some  in  smelting,  refining  and  casting  of  lead 
and  lead  alloys,  and  more  than  any  other  one  group,  in  the  paint- 
ing trade.  The  methods  of  infection  differ  in  the  different  in- 
dustries. In  almost  all  the  lack  of  proper  cleanliness  leading  to 
infection  by  the  conveying  of  lead  into  the  system  through  the 
mouth  was  the  most  important.  In  the  manufacture  of  lead 
powders  the  inhalation  of  dust  was  also  important.  In  the  smelt- 
ing, refining  and  casting  of  lead  the  writer  believes  that  the  oxide 
which  is  continually  forming  on  the  molten  lead  and  which  must 
be  constantly  forming  in  the  immediate  vicinity  is  the  chief 
source  of  infection.  In  painting,  the  inhalation  of  the  lead  fumes, 
the  direct  contact  with  lead  in  paints  and  the  very  dangerous 
process  of  sandpapering  are  the  principal  direct  causes.  An  at- 
tempt must  be  made  to  guard  against  these  sources  of  danger. 

Another  striking  discovery  of  this  investigation  is  the  almost 
entire  lack  of  adequate  precautions  on  the  part  of  the  employers. 
It  might  be  thought  that  employers  would  find  it  to  their  own  in- 
terests to  safeguard  the  workers  in  the  hope  of  getting  more  steady 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  549 

and  a  better  quality  of  work.  But  this  is  not  true.  There  are  all 
grades  of  indifference, —  from  the  employer  who  told  the  Com- 
mission with  gusto  and  pride  that  he  bad  provided  buckets  which 
the  men  could  fill  with  cold  water  in  which  to  wash,  but  which  the 
men  said  they  actually  furnished  themselves,  to  the  employer  who 
really  has  taken  considerable  precaution,  but  who  does  not  enforce 
the  measures  which  he  knows  are  best.  Employers  should,  there- 
fore, be  informed  of  the  dangerous  character  of  their  businesses 
and  be  brought  sharply  to  the  realization  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
trespassing  on  the  rights  of  the  community  when  they  neglect  the 
health  of  their  employees. 

Another  fact  which  this  investigation  has  revealed  is  the  in- 
efficiency of  the  methods  of  protection  taken  by  employers.  One 
firm  has  installed  a  doctor  who  tells  the  commission  on  the  stand 
thai  be  is  not  concerned  with  the  processes  of  manufacture,  and  in 
fact  does  not  know  about  them,  further,  that  he  makes  no  effort  to 
seek  out  men  who  may  be  ill  or  that  he  makes  no  effort  to  suggest 
improvements.  Close  inspection  revealed  the  fact  that  such  meas- 
ures, although  costing  as  much  as  efficient  protection,  are  of  very 
small  value.  Another  firm  claims  that  it  discharges  men  who  show 
signs  of  being  leaded.  Yet  one  man  suffering  from  severe  lead 
poisoning, —  so  severe  as  to  be  painfully  evident, —  had  actually 
been  sent  for  twice  in  the  week  preceding  the  visit  of  the  investi- 
gator to  him.  In  the  numerous  smaller  establishments  almost  no 
care  is  taken  of  the  men,  and  what  is  taken  is  of  a  very  trivial 
nature. 

No  doubt  one  of  the  greatest  preventatives  of  lead  poisoning 
would  be  the  knowledge  and  realization  on  the  part  of  the  work- 
ers in  lead,  that  the  occupation  is  dangerous  and  that  personal 
habits  have  much  to  do  with  prevention.  One  man,  for  example, 
was  found  on  Sunday  noon  eating  his  dinner  with  hands  still 
besmeared  with  the  pigments  in  which  he  had  been  working  on 
Saturday.  The  painters  are  probably  the  worst  offenders  in  this 
regard,  and  with  them  personal  cleanliness  and  methods  of  pre- 
vention which  they  can  themselves  take,  are  of  great  avail.  One 
of  the  things  which  must  be  done,  then,  in  stamping  out  lead  poi- 
soning is  to  instruct  the  rank  and  file  of  workers  in  lead  as  to 
the  danger  of  the  poison  in  which  they  are  working  and  the 
methods  of  prevention. 


550  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

In  view  of  these  facts  the  following  recommendations  are  made. 
They  are  minimum  in  the  sense  that  they  provide  only  for  a  min- 
imum number  of  measures  which  ought  to  be  taken  to  insure  a 
reasonable  degree  of  safety  in  the  lead  industries.  Other  recom- 
mendations of  a  more  minute  and  detailed  character  can  be  made 
only  after  a  more  extended  and  complete  investigation.  The  rec- 
ommendations offered  herewith  indicate  methods  which  have  been 
successfully  followed  and  one  or  another  of  which  have  act- 
ually been  put  into  practice  voluntarily  by  firms  in  this  State  or 
in  other  states.  They  mark  no  new  departure  in  legislation,  ex- 
cept, perhaps,  to  point  out  and  segregate  for  special  legislation 
some  industries  which  are  of  an  especially  dangerous  character; 
very  much  as  certain  dangerous  or  even  unpleasant  industries  are 
subject  to  special  laws  regarding  fire  hazards,  locations,  character 
of  buildings,  etc.,  etc.  These  recommendations  in  the  main  have 
to  do  with  the  extending  and  broadening  the  powers  now  vested 
in  certain  state  officials,  and  also  the  compulsory  use  of  some  pow- 
ers which  are  probably  already  vested  in  those  officers.  They  also 
contemplate  greater  stringency  in  providing  the  minimum  hy- 
gienic and  sanitary  conditions  in  these  dangerous  trades. 

Part  I.  Industries  in  which  lead  is  used: 

1.  Each  and  every  industry,   factory,  mill  or  shop  in   which 
lead  in  any  form  is  used  shall  be  licensed  and  shall  be  permitted 
to  carry  on  those  processes  in  which  lead  is  used  only  under  the 
conditions  specified  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

2.  Each  and  every  worker  who  comes  in  contact  with,  or  in 
dangerous  proximity  to  lead  in  any  form  shall  be  subjected  to  a 
thorough   physical   examination   each  month.      This  examination 
shall  be  conducted  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories  of  the 
State  of  New  York. 

3.  Each  and  every  worker  in  any  industry  in  which  lead  in  any 
form  is  used,  who  shows  any  evidence  of  being  affected  by  lead 
poisoning,  shall  be  at  once  removed  from  immediate  contact  with 
lead,  and  if  possible  from  the  industry.     Such  persons  shall  not 
take  employment  in  the  same  or  in  any  other  industry  in  which 
lead  in  any  form  is  used,  without  the  specific  and  written  consent 
of  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  551 

4.  The  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories  shall  be  empowered  to 
make  regular  monthly  examinations  of  all  workers  in  industries 
in  which  lead  in  any  form  is  used,  and  he  shall  also  be  empowered 
to  make  such  examinations  of  workers  at  other  times  as  he  shall 
see  fit. 

5.  The  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories  shall  be  provided  with 
a  staff  of  assistants  adequate  for  the  performance  of  these  duties. 

6.  One  chemist  shall  be  attached  to  the  staff  of  the  Medical 
Inspector  of  Factories.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  this  chemist  to 
determine  by  the  chemical  analysis  of  air  specimens,  the  presence 
and  amount  of  lead  in  the  air  in  buildings  and  factories  in  which 
lead  in  any  form  is  used,  and  to  make  such  analyses  of  materials, 
products,  human  excreta,  etc.,  as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  by  the 
Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 

7.  A  permanent  record  of  the  workers  in  industries  in  which  lead 
in  any  form  is  used  shall  be  kept  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of 
Factories.      These  records  shall  contain,  at  least,   the  name  and 
address  of  each  worker,  length  of  time  employed,  exact  process, 
which  the  worker  performed  (in  detail),  a  complete  statement  of 
the  physical  examination,  which  shall  include  information  con- 
cerning,—  examination  of  gums ;  teeth ;  heart, —  size,  murmurs, 
blood    pressure;    arterio-selerosis;    lungs;    digestion;    constipation; 
nervous    system, —  neuritis,    cramps,    palsy;    hands, —  eczema,  fis- 
sures, ulcers ;   blood, —  hemoglobin,   red  cells,  white  cells,   baso- 
philes ;  urine, —  albumen,  casts,  specific  gravity,  lead. 

8.  In  each  and  every  industry,  factory,  mill  and  shop  where 
lead  dust  in  any  form, —  lead  carbonate,  lead  litharge,  oxide  of 
lead,  or  any  other  lead  dust  —  is  present,  or  where  oxide  of  lead 
is  liable  to  form  on  the  surface  of  molten  lead,  there  shall  be  a 
localized  system  of  ventilation  in  the  shape  of  a  powerful  exhaust. 
This  exhaust,  which  shall  be  kept  running  during  working  hours, 
shall  be  powerful  enough  to  remove  from  the  immediate  locality 
all  traces  of  the  dust.     The  effectiveness  of  the  dust  removal  sys- 
tem shall    be   determined    by    scientific   experiment    and  not  by 
observation. 


552  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

9.  Each  and  every  room  in  each  and  every  industry,  factory, 
mill,  or  shop  in  which  any  process  involving  the  use  of  lead  in  any 
form,  is  carried  on,  shall  be  well  lighted  and  ventilated  with  a  con- 
tinual supply  of  fresh  air. 

10.  Each  and  every  industry,  factory,  mill  or  shop  in  which 
lead  in  any  form  is  used  shall  provide  for  the  workers  coming  in 
contact  with,  or  in  dangerous  proximity  to  lead  in  any  form,  the 
following  sanitary  and  hygienic  facilities:  (a)  one  wash  basin,  with 
one  spigot  each  of  hot  and  cold  water,  for  every  five  employees; 
(b)  one  shower  bath,  with  hot  and  cold  water,  for  every  ten  em- 
ployees, (c)  one  clean  towel  per  day  for  each  employee;  (d)  soap 
for  each  employee  ;.(e)  one  suit  of  clean  overalls  per  week  for  each 
employee;   (f)   a  lunch  room  which  the  Commissioner  of  Labor 
shall  deem  to  be  of  sufficient  capacity;  (g)  a  locker,  suitable  for 
keeping  of  clothing,  for  each  employee. 

11.  Each  and  every   employee  in   any  factory   in    which   lead 
dust  may  form,  or  where  oxide  of  lead  is  apt  to  form  on  molten 
lead,  shall  be  furnished  with  suitable  protective  devices  and  safe- 
guards, such  as:  respirator,  gloves,  goggles,  overalls  and  other  pro- 
tective devices  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  and  proper  by  the 
Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 

12.  No  employee  in  any  factory,  mill  or  shop  in  which  lead 
in  any  form  is  used  shall  be  allowed  or  permitted  to  eat  in  any 
workroom  of  such  factory,  mill  or  shop. 

13.  Not  less  than  one  hour  shall  be  allowed  for  lunch  in  any 
factory,  mill,  or  shop  in  which  lead  in  any  form  is  used. 

14.  No  beer,  tobacco  or  edibles  in  any  form  shall  be  permitted 
to  be  brought  into  any  workroom  where  lead  in  any  form  is  used. 

15.  Each  and  every  employee  shall  be  required  to  wash  thor- 
oughly in  warm  water  before  each  meal  and  before  leaving  the 
factory.    Ten  minutes  shall  be  allowed  on  the  employer's  time  for 
this  purpose.    Each  and  every  employee  shall  be  required  'to  take 
one  bath  per  week,  which  shall  also  be  allowed  on  the  employer's 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  553 

time.     A  register  of  these  baths  shall  be  kept  for  the  inspection 
of  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 

16.  Each  and  every  factory,  mill  or  shop  in  which  lead  in  any 
form  is  used,  shall  supply,  free  of  charge  to  its  employees,  medical 
advice  and  service,  approved  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Fac- 
tories.   Such  advice  shall  be  given  on  the  premises  of  the  factory 
not  less  than  one  hour  each  week,  per  25  employees.     All  drugs, 
prescriptions  and  other  medical  appurtenances  required  for  the 
treatment  of  employees  suffering  from  lead  poisoning,   shall  be 
supplied  free  of  charge  by  employers. 

17.  The  superintendent  of  any  factory,  mill  or  shop  in  which 
lead  in  any  form  is  used,  shall  instruct  his  employees,  or  shall 
cause  his  employees  to  be  instructed,  as  to  'the  dangers  of  lead  and 
as  to  the  proper  precautions  which  must  be  taken. 

18.  Complete  instructions  as  to  the  dangers  of  work  in  lead, 
and  how  to  guard  against  them,  shall  be  published  by  the  Depart- 
ment of  Labor,  and  shall  be  posted  in  every  mill  or  shop  where 
lead  in  any  form  is  used. 

19.  The  Commissioner  of  Labor  shall  carry  on  a  campaign  of 
education  among  the  workers  in  industries  in  which  lead  in  any 
form  is  used,  by  means  of  circulars  printed  in  different  languages, 
and  by  means  of  talks  and  lectures  before  groups  of  workers  in 
the  factories  and  trade  union  meetings.    The  workers  shall  be  in- 
structed as  to  the  dangers  of  the  work,  methods  of  safeguarding 
themselves,  and  of  simple  remedies  to  be  applied  in  case  of  illness. 

Part  II.  The  Painting  Trade: 

1.  All  buildings  in  process  of  construction,  or  undergoing  re- 
pairs, where  five  or  more  workers  are  employed  at  any  one  time, 
shall  be  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  and 
shall  be  inspected  by  the  Department  of  Labor. 

2.  No  paint  or  varnish  shall  be  removed  from  any  surface  in 
any  building,  by  any  dry  process  which  gives  rise  to  dust. 


554:  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

3.  Not  less  than,  one  hour  shall  be  allowed  for  lunch. 

4.  In  every  building  in  course  of  construction,  a  room  shall  be 
piovided,  or  shall  be  specifically  set  aside  for  a  lunch  room,  and 
shall  be  equipped  with  serviceable  tables  and  chairs.     Xo  food  or 
drink  shall  be  allowed  or  permitted  in  any  building  in  course  of 
construction  except  in  the  room  provided  for  eating  purposes. 

5.  Hot  and  cold  water  shall  be  provided  for  the  use  of  workers 
on  every  third  floor.     Each  employee  shall  be  provided  with  one 
dean  towel  per  day,  with  soap  and  one  clean  suit  of  overalls  per 
week. 

6.  Complete  instructions  as  to  the  dangers  of  work  in  lead  and 
how  to  guard  against  them,  shall  be  published  by  the  Department 
of  Labor,  and  shall  be  posted  in  the  meeting  rooms  of  all  trade- 
unions  in  the  painting  trades,  in  buildings  in  course  of  construc- 
tion and  in  the  shops  and  offices  of  the  boss  painters. 

7.  Employers  and  boss  painters  shall  be  required  to  instruct, 
personally,  each  and  every  employee  concerning  the  dangers  of 
lead  poisoning,  and  how  to  guard  against  them. 

8.  Each  and  every  painter  or  person  working  in  paint  shall  be 
subjected  to  a  thorough  physical  examination  each  month.     This 
examination  shall  be  conducted  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Fac- 
tories of  the  State  of  New  York. 

9.  Each  and  every  painter  or  person  working  in  paint  who 
shows  any  evidence  of  being  affected  by  lead  poisoning,  shall  be 
at  once  removed  from  immediate  contact  with  paint.    Such  person 
shall  not  take  employment  in  the  same  or  any  other  industry  in 
which  lead  in  any  form  is  used,  without  the  specific  written  con- 
sent of  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 

10.  The  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories  shall  be  empowered  to 
make  regular  monthly  examinations  of  all  painters  and  workers  in 
paints,  and  he  shall  be  empowered  to  make  such  examinations  of 
workers  at  other  times  as  he  shall  see  fit. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  555 

11.  A  permanent  record  of  painters  and  workers  in  paints  shall 
be  kept  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories.    These  records  shall 
contain,  at  least,  the  name  and  address  of  each  worker,  length  of 
time  employed,  exact  process  which  the  worker  performed  (in  de- 
tail), a  complete  statement  of  physical  examination,  which  shall 
include    information    concerning, —  examination  of  gums;   teeth; 
heart, —  size,  murmurs,  blood  pressure;  arterio-sclerosis;  lungs;  di- 
gestion;  constipation;   nervous  system, —  neuritis,   cramps,   palsy; 
hands, —  eczema,  fissures,  ulcers;  blood, —  hemoglobin,  red  cells, 
white  cells,  basophiles ;  urine, —  albumen,  casts,  specific  gravity, 
lead. 

12.  No  beer,  tobacco  or  other  edibles  in  any  form  shall  be  per- 
mitted to  be  brought  into  any  room  in  any  building  in  course  of 
construction  in  which  paint  is  being  used. 

13.  Each  and  every  painter  or  person  working  in  paint  shall  be 
required  to  wash  thoroughly  in  warm  water  before  each  meal,  and 
before  leaving  the  building.     Ten  minutes  shall  be  allowed  on  the 
employer's  time  for  this  purpose.    Each  and  every  employee  shall 
be  required  to  take  one  bath  per  week,  which  shall  also  be  allowed 
on  the  employer's  time.     A  register  of  these  baths  shall  be  kept 
for  the  inspection  of  the  Medical  Inspector  of  Factories. 

14.  Each  and  every  person  employing  painters  or  persons  using 
paint  in  any  form  shall  supply  free  of  vaarge  to  his  employees, 
medical  advice  and  service,  approved  by  the  Medical  Inspector  of 
Factories.     Such  advice  shall  be  given  on  the  premises  of  the  build- 
ing, not  less  than  one  hour  per  week  per  25  employees.     All  drugs, 
prescriptions  and  other  medical   appurtenances  required  for  the 
treatment  of  employees  suffering  from  lead  poisoning,  shall  be 
supplied  free  of  charge  by  the  employer. 

In  view  of  the  comparatively  narrow  limits  of  this  investigation 
it  is  too  much  to  expect  that  these  recommendations  will  have 
great  weight.  There  is,  however,  one  recommendation  which  we 
wish  to  urge,  and  for  the  support  of  which  we  believe  that  we 
have  ample  evidence.  We  believe  that  the  evidence  which  we  have 
presented  proves  conclusively  that  we  have  here  a  serious  and  diffi- 


556  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

cult  problem.  We  believe  that  the  problem  is  so  serious  that  it 
should  not  be  settled  offhand,  or  on  the  evidence  here  presented. 
We  believe  that  a  careful,  painstaking  and  thoroughly  scientific 
investigation  should  be  made,  —  an  investigation  which  should  in- 
clude the  inspection  of  factories,  the  determination  of  the  poison- 
ous character  of  materials  used,  determination  of  air  contents,  the 
physical  examination  of  employees,  the  morbidity  and  employment 
records  of  employees,  a  careful  and  detailed  study  of  all  cases  of 
lead  poisoning  to  be  obtained  from  the  records  of  hospitals,  dis- 
pensaries, trade-unions,  fraternal  insurance  societies  and  any  other 
sources. 

Such  an  inquiry  should  be  constituted  with  specific  authority, — 
to  subpoena  Witnesses,  records,  payrolls  and  other  information 
deemed  necessary  to  accomplish  a  thorough  inquiry;  to  inspect 
factories  and  workshops  and  to  make  any  photographs  of  employees 
or  processes  which  may  be  deemed  necessary  in  order  to  clearly 
set  forth  conditions;  to  consult  the  medical  records  of  lead  poison- 
ing in  the  possession  of  hospitals,  dispensaries,  fraternal,  commer- 
cial and  industrial  insurance  companies,  and  physicians;  to  make 
physical  examination  of  workers  when  necessary. 

Doubtless  other  industrial  poisons  also  deserve  investigation, 
for  example,  arsenical  poisoning.  An  investigation  of  all  industrial 
poisons  could  be  accomplished  most  easily  and  economically  if  car- 
ried on  in  conjunction  with  an  investigation  of  lead  poisoning. 

APPENDIX  A. 

THE  MANUFACTUKE  OF  PABIS  GKEEN. 

In  connection  with  the  manufacturing  of  dry  colors  several 
plants  also  manufactured  paris  green.  Paris  green  contains  a 
large  percentage  of  arsenic  and  workers  in  paris  green  are  likely 
to  be  subject  to  arsenical  poisoning.  As  already  noted  in  the  de- 
scriptions of  the  dry  color  plants,  the  conditions  in  these  plants 
are  generally  very  bad.  What  has  been  said  there  may  be  em- 
phasized in  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  paris  green. 

The  Illinois  Commission  on  Occupation  Diseases  has  this  to 
say  of  paris  green.  "Arsenite  of  copper,  or  paris  green  ....  is 


No.  64. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS  GREEN.  Removing  paris  green  from  vats.  The 
worker  enters  the  vats  and  shovels  the  paris  green  into  a  tray.  Vapors  can  be  seen 
rising  about  the  workmen. 


No.   65. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Carrying  paris  green  into  the  drying7room. 


-^o.  66. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Detail  of  60. 


*No.  67. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Putting  pans  green  into  a  bolter. 


OCCUPATIONAL.  DISEASES.  557 

a  very  light  and  fluffy  powder,  extremely  hard  to  control.  If  it 
settles  on  the  skin  and  becomes  moistened  by  the  perspiration, 
ulcers  are  apt  to  result.  If  it  is  breathed  into  the  mucous  mem- 
brane of  the  mouth  and  nose,  still  severer  ulceration  takes  place. 
Cases  have  occurred  of  ulceration  of  the  feet  when  the  boots  have 
become  soaked  with  water  holding  paris  green.  The  internal  ef- 
fects of  paris  green  poisoning  are  shown  in  intestinal  and  nerv- 
ous disturbances." 

Four  factories  manufacturing  paris  green  were  inspected.  In 
two  of  these  the  conditions  were  good.  In  one,  almost  every 
possible  precaution  had  been  taken.  In  the  other  two  plants,  the 
conditions  were  almost  unbelievable.  Very  little  protection 
against  the  paris  green  powder,  almost  no  washing  facilities, 
no  place  to  eat  lunch,  eating  in  the  workroom  permitted,  primitive 
sanitary  conditions,  lack  of  instructions,  or  even  lack  of  recognition 
of  danger  on  the  part  of  the  employers  were  found  to  exist. 

Evidences  of  poisoning  were  difficult  to  trace  because  the  work- 
ers, almost  universally,  could  not  speak  English  enough  to  give 
intelligible  answers  to  questions.  One  negro  employed  in  one 
of  the  bad  factories,  in  answer  to  the  question,  "  Have  any  of 
the  men  here  been  poisoned  by  paris  green  ?  "  made  the  signifi- 
cant answer,  "  You  bet,  every  mother's  son  of  us  has  had  it." 
In  the  other  plant  where  conditions  were  especially  bad,  the  in- 
spector was  hampered  in  every  way,  and  was  refused  permission 
to  make  photographs.  This  refusal  is  eloquent  of  the  conditions 
that  exist  there  in  view  of  the  descriptions  given  below. 

FACTORY  A. 

I.  Manufacture  of  Paris  Green: 

This  factory  is  housed  in  a  collection  of  old  buildings,  but  has 
really  done  rather  remarkable  work  in  safeguarding  the  workers. 
There  are  about  20  men  employed  in  the  making  of  paris  green. 
They  are  Slavs,  Poles,  Lithuanians  and  Kussians. 

The  first  process  of  the  manufacturing  is  carried  on  on  the 
third  floor  of  the  central  building  of  the  group,  and  is  lighted 
from  two  sides.  The  first  solution,  a  mixture  of  copper  sulphate 


558  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

and  acetic  acid,  is  made  iii  large  vats  and  is  continually  stirred 
by  the  workers.  Vaporous  gases  rise  constantly  from  the  vats 
over  which  the  men  work.  Water  is  added  to  the  solution  in 
large  quantities,  and  the  heavier  substances  are  allowed  to  set- 
tle gradually  to  the  bottom  of  the  vats.  The  water  is  then  drained 
off,  leaving  a  residue  of  moist  green  pulp.  One  of  the  workers 
then  gets  into  the  vats  and  shovels  the  wet  paris  green  (see  photo 
No,  64),  into  a  hand  conveyor,  the  bottom  of  which  is  cloth.  This 
conveyor  is  then  placed  on  a  rack  and  much  of  the  water  which  re- 
mains is  gradually  drained  off.  The  workers  who  shovel  out 
the  vats  are  exposed,  of  course,  to  the  most  dangerous  vapors 
which  rise  from  the  moist  paris  green. 

After  as  much  of  the  water  has  been  drained  off  as  possible, 
the  paris  green  is  dumped  on  a  platform  at  one  end  of  the  room, 
it  is  then  shoveled  onto  small  trays  (see  photo  No.  65)  and  is 
carried  by  the  workers  into  the  drying  room  (see  photo  Xo.  66). 
Here  a  comparatively  high  temperature  is  generated  and  the 
last  bit  of  moisture  is  removed  from  the  paris  green. 

After  the  drying  room  process  is  completed,  the  paris  green 
is  caked  and  rather  hard,  is  then  put  through  a  machine 
called  the  bolter.  The  process  consists  of  forcing  the  powder 
through  a  very  fine  screen  by  means  of  brushes.  This  is  usually 
one  of  the  dustiest  and,  therefore,  one  of  the  most  dangerous  jobs 
in  the  whole  process  of  making  paris  green.  In  this  factory,  the 
process  is  especially  well  guarded  and  the  workers  are  protected 
as  much  as  possible  from  disease. 

In  many  establishments  where  paris  green  is  made,  the  ma- 
terial after  coming  from  the  drying  room,  is  dumped  into  the 
bolter  and  the  machine  and  worker  are  unprotected,  and  the 
dust  is  thick  throughout  the  room.  (See  photo  No.  76.)  In  this 
factory,  however,  the  bolter  as  well  as  the  method  of  putting  the 
paris  green  into  it,  are  thoroughly  and  completely  enclosed,  so 
that  no  dust  escapes  from  the  bolting  operations.  This  is  ac- 
complished as  follows :  the  bolting  machinery  is  entirely  outside 
of  the  room  in  which  the  paris  green  is  made  (see  photo  No.  68). 
The  opening  between  the  two  is  merely  a  small  window  into  which 
the  worker  thrusts  a  tray  full  of  the  dry  paris  green.  He  does 


I 

1 


to  " 


a 


No.  70. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS    GREEN.     Automatic  packing  'machines,  for    filling 
small  packages  with  pans  green. 


No.  71. —  FACTORY  A  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Another  view  of  automatic  packer  shown 

in  No.  70. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  559 

this  by  means  of  a  little  iron  hook,  and  hence  not  even  his  hands 
have  to  enter  the  bolting  room.  (See  photo  No.  67.)  The  tray 
is  then  turned  over  by  means  of  a  handle,  still  outside  the  bolt- 
ing room,  and  the  worker  pulls  it  out  with  his  iron  hook.  The 
paris  green  then  goes  through  the  bolting  machinery  and  down 
into  the  packing  room  without  human  interference. 

The  packing  of  paris  green  into  barrels  is  done  by  machinery, 
and  what  employers  elsewhere  have  told  the  inspector  is  not  a 
practical  method  is  here  working  regularly.  (See  photo  No.  69.) 
The  only  possible  occasion  when  dust  can  arise  is  when  the  bar- 
rel is  sealed  up,  but  as  this  is  done  by  sealing  up  a  very  small 
bung  hole,  the  danger  is  not  great.  All  the  paris  green  manu- 
factured here  is  first  packed  in  barrels  and  if  it  is  later  desired 
to  pack  it  in  small  cans  or  boxes,  it  is  removed  from  the  barrels. 

The  packing  department  is  one  of  great  interest.  Here  again, 
this  firm  has  succeeded  in  doing  something  that  other  manufac- 
turers have  declared  impossible,  namely,  packing  paris  green 
in  small  cans  by  machinery.  (See  photos  No.  70  and  71.)  The 
workers  here  put  the  empty  cans  into  the  machine  and  others 
put  the  filled  cans  on  trays  ready  to  be  conveyed  to  men  who 
seal  on  the  tops  and  pack  into  boxes.  (See  photo  No.  72.)  What 
is  ordinarily  a  very  dusty  and  dangerous  job  and  a  job  done  in 
other  factories  entirely  by  hand,  is  here  done  entirely  by 
machinery. 

II.  Provisions  for  Hygiene: 

Much  has  been  done  here  for  the  health  and  safety  of  the 
men  besides  providing  respirators,  goggles  and  complete  suits  of 
clothing  for  the  workers  (see  photo  No.  73)  ;  much  has  been 
done  in  improving  the  physical  conditions  of  the  plant.  In  the 
arrangement  of  the  processes  themselves  as  already  described, 
in  the  elimination  of  the  human  element  from  the  bolter  and 
the  mechanical  filling  machinery,  great  advances  over  other  firms 
have  been  made.  A  lunch  room,  lavatory  and  wash  room  of  con- 
siderable size  have  been  installed.  One  of  the  most  noticeable 
features  in  the  entire  plant  was  the  air  of  quiet  ease  in  the  pack- 
ing department.  Paris  green  is  a  very  fine,  light  powder,  and 


560  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

flies  about  very  easily.  Therefore,  if  the  work  is  done  under 
strain  and  done  in  haste,  more  or  less  of  the  dust  will  get  out 
and  into  the  air.  However,  here  the  work  is  carefully  and  quietly 
done,  and  there  was  an  almost  entire  absence  of  dust. 

///.  Suggestions  for  Improvement: 

Instructions  should  be  given  to  the  men  as  to  how  to  keep 
clean,  and  as  to  how  to  protect  themselves  from  the  poisons.  This 
should  be  done  by  means  of  personal  instruction.  Although  a 
lunch  room  is  provided,  it  is  little  used.  Why?  Because  it  is 
not  kept  clean  and  the  men  will  never,  nor  can  they  be  expected 
to  keep  it  clean  themselves.  Hot  coffee  or  milk  might  be  served 
here,  which  would  aid  in  making  the  place  popular.  The  wash- 
ing and  bathing  facilities  are  still  insufficient,  and  lockers  should 
be  provided. 

FACTORY  B. 

The  paris  green  department. —  The  paris  green  process  be- 
gins with  a  solution  of  copper  sulphate  and  acetic  acid  in  large 
vats  which  are  set  high  above  the  floor  in  a  large,  well  ventilated 
room.  Above  the  vats  there  are  hoods  which  carry  off  the  fumes 
and  the  steam.  These  tanks  are  drained  into  another  set  of  vats 
where  the  solution  is  washed  and  allowed  to  settle  and  the  water 
is  drained  off,  leaving  a  wet  mudlike  substance.  This  paris  green 
is  then  put  on  trays  and  removed  to  the  drying  room.  Here 
it  is  thoroughly  dried  and  all  the  moisture  is  removed.  The 
process  of  bolting,  or  sifting,  is  carried  on  in  a  tightly  enclosed 
box.  This  process  consists  of  forcing  the  paris  green  powder 
through  a  very  fine  screen.  A  special  room  is  set  aside  for  it, 
which  is  tightly  enclosed  and  dust-proof.  Almost  all  the  ma- 
chinery here  is  enclosed.  The  paris  green  is  conveyed  automat- 
ically from  the  bolting  machine  to  a  mixer  which  is  placed  on  a 
little  balcony.  From  here  the  paris  green  powder  runs  into  the 
filling  machine  and  is  put  into  barrels  and  boxes.  (See  photo 
!N"o.  74.)  The  operation  is  an  extremely  dusty  one,  and  after 
a  few  minutes  in  the  room  the  inspector  was  covered  with  a  fine 
film  of  paris  green.  The  worker  who  has  charge  of  this  part 


No.  74.—  FACTORY  B  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Filling  a  barrel  with  pans  green. 


75  —  FACTORY    C  —  PARIS    GREEN.      Locker    room     and    shower,     exceedingly 
dirty  and  ill-kept. 


No.  76. —  FACTORY  C  —  PARIS  GREEN.     Putting  paris  green  into  the  bolter. 


OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES.  561 

of  the  work  is  provided  with  a  suit  of  overalls,  with  linen  cloths 
to  tie  about  his  ankles,  wrists,  head  and  throat,  and  also  with 
goggles  and  respirator.  He,  however,  prefers  not  to  use  the 
respirator,  but  wears  a  large  piece  of  linen  cloth  tied  about  his 
nose  and  mouth,  in  which  is  bunched  some  clean  cotton  waste. 

In  spite  of  these  protections,  which  are  evidently  well  done, 
the  worker  admitted  that  in  the  summer  time  especially,  he  was 
troubled  with  arsenical  poisoning.  But  he  has  worked  at  this 
job  for  some  time  and  has  not  experienced  any  very  serious 
results. 

FACTORY  C. 

This  factory,  an  old  three-story  brick  building,  employs  about 
forty  men  when  running  at  full  capacity;  at  the  time  of  inspec- 
tion, about  twenty-five  men  were  employed.  Workers,  who  are 
unskilled,  are  Italians,  Poles,  Russians,  Germans  and  a  few 
jSTegroes.  The  building  is  poorly  lighted  and  ventilated.  Some 
of  the  windows,  which  were  few,  were  unopened  and  were  cov- 
ered with  deposits  of  dust,  dirt  and  cobwebs. 

The  paris  green  department. —  In  the  paris  green  depart- 
ment, the  solution  of  copper  sulphate  is  run  into  large  vats  where 
it  is  boiled  for  a  considerable  period.  The  room  in  which  this  is 
done  is  very  damp,  low  and  poorly  ventilated.  The  solu- 
tion of  paris  green,  to  which  water  is  added,  is  run 
into  other  vats  where  it  settles  and  the  water  is  drained  off.  It  is 
then  partially  dried,  put  on  trays  which  are  piled  one  above 
the  other  and  taken  into  drying  rooms.  (See  photo  No.  76.)  The 
paris  green  when  it  comes  from  the  drying  ovens  is  a  heavy  caked 
powder  which  must  be  ground  or  "  bolted,"  as  the  term  is  used. 
This  process  consists  of  the  forcing  of  the  paris  green  through  fine 
screens  by  means  of  revolving  brushes.  The  worker,  but  slightly 
protected,  dumps  the  tray?  of  paris  green  into  the  bolter,  from 
which  clouds  of  dust  rise.  (See  photo  No.  76.)  Barrels  and  small 
packages  are  then  filled.  At  this  factory,  there  was  no  filling 
going  on  at  the  time  of  the  inspection.  In  the  room,  however, 
where  this  work  is  ordinarily  done,  the  walls  and  projections 
were  covered  with  a  thick  film  of  paris  green. 


562  OCCUPATIONAL,  DISEASES. 

Another  process  in  operation  at  the  time  of  inspection  was  a 
very  dangerous  one.  The  trays  on  which  the  paris  green  is  put 
for  drying  purposes  are  covered  with  heavy  paper.  This  paper 
was  being  removed  from  the  trays,  and  one  of  the  workers  was 
shaking  it  into  a  barrel.  The  dust  was  very  thick  in  this  depart- 
ment and  although  the  worker  was  protected  by  a  bandana  hand- 
kerchief, there  must  have  been  some  effects,  although  the  worker 
disclaimed  any  poisoning. 

Hygienic  conditions. —  The  conditions  in  this  plant  were 
bad  (see  photo  No.  75),  and  as  one  man  remarked  on  being  ques- 
tioned for  symptoms  of  arsenical  poisoning,  "  Yes,  every  mother's 
son  of  us  has  had  it."  While  this  may  not  be  quite  accurate,  all 
the  men  standing  about  (the  superintendent  was  not  in  sight) 
had  been  affected  with  rash  about  the  neck  and  waistline,  partic- 
ually  in  the  summer  time. 

The  sanitary  and  hygienic  facilities  were  primitive  in  the  ex- 
treme. A  dressing  room  with  a  shower  in  the  center  of  the  room, 
was  dirty  and  unventilated.  Dirty  clothing  hung  about  the  walls 
or  was  stuffed  into  open  wooden  lockers.  Washing  facilities  con- 
sisted of  a  sink  provided  with  cold  water.  The  men  eat  their 
lunches  anywhere  they  wish,  and  are  given  no  instructions. 
In  fact,  the  superintendent  seemed  unaware  of  the  danger. 

FACTORY  D. 

There  are  from  75  to  80  men  employed  in  this  factory  and 
the  hours  are  ten  per  day,  nine  on  Saturday,  59  per  week. 

1.  In  the  manufacture  of  paris  green  there  are  ten  men.     The 
paris  green  is  precipitated  in  a  large  vat.     A  man  stands  on  a 
platform  at  the  side  of  this  vat  and  stirs  the  liquid  with  a  long 
handled   paddle.      The   solution    spatters   around   the  sides   and 
steam  rises  from  it.    The  man  doing  this  work  had  no  respirator 
and  none  of  the  others  employed  here  had  them;  some  of  the 
men  had  little  wads  of  cheesecloth  in  their  noses  and  ears. 

2.  From  the  precipitating  vats   the    paris  green  is   pumped 
through  a  filter  press  which  separates  it  from  the  solution.    From 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  563 

this  press  it  is  put  by  hand  into  trays  and  carried  to  the  drying 
oven,  where*  a  current  of  hot  air  passes  over  it.  After  it  has 
dried,  the  trays  are  carried  one  by  one  to  the  end  of  the  room, 
slid  into  an  air-tight  box  with  a  device  by  which  the  tray  may 
be  turned  over  and  emptied  of  its  contents  without  much  dust 
flying  out  in  the  room. 

3.  Dust  removal. — Above  this  box,  an  exhaust  carries  the  dust 
into  a  cloth  chamber  where  it  collects.     The  man  who  works  here 
said  he  had  been  with  the  firm  at  that  work  eleven  years.     His 
only  protection  was  cheesecloth  wads  in  his  nose  and  ears.     The 
paris  green,  after  having  been  dumped  from  the  drying  trays, 
falls  into  a  conveyor  that  carries  it  up  into  a  bin  from  which  it 
goes  into  the  bolter,  or  screening  process,  and  thence  to  the  next 
room  where  it  is  packed. 

4.  Packing. — This   small   room  in  which  the  paris  green  is 
packed  and  weighed  has  no  windows  at  all  and  no  ventilation 
except  that  which  might  come  from  the  outside  door  when  open. 
Three  men  work  here.     They  let  the  paris  green  out  of  a  chute 
from  the  bin  into  cans  or  barrels  and  scoop  it  up  and  put  it  into 
the  kegs  which  they  have  put  on  the  scales.     One  of  the  men, 
at  the  time  of  the  inspection,  was  tamping  the  paris  green  into 
a  large  can  with  a  stick.     The  air  was  green  with  the  dust  and 
the  men's  clothing  was  covered  with  it.     The  pieces  of  cheese- 
cloth with  which  they  protected  their  heads  were  streaked  with 
green.    The  manager  explained  it  was  necessary  to  tamp  the  paris 
green  down  in  packing  it.     The  men  at  this  job  had  not  been 
there  long,  nor  could  they  talk  English. 

5.  In  a  room  immediately  back  of  this  packing  room  and  open- 
ing only  onto  the  larger  room  already  described,  was  a  room  in 
which  there  were  a  lot  of  old  clothes  lying  around  and  about  the 
walls  of  which  the  men  had  fixed  up   improvised  boxes  with 
pieces  of  gunny-sacking  over  the  front,  in  which  they  kept  their 
clothes.     On  one  of  these  boxes  was  a  beer  bucket  with  some  beer 
still  in  it  and  on  its  lid  were  spatters  of  paris  green. 


564  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 

6.  Washing  facilities. — There  was  no  place  for  the  men  to 
wash  when  they  changed  their  clothes.     The  manager  said  the 
men  furnished  the  pails  in  which  they  washed,  as  he  said,  "  from 
head  to  foot    every   evening."      The  floor  and  walls  were  dusty 
with  paris  green.     It  is  difficult  to  imagine  those  fellows  "  wash- 
ing good  from  head  to  foot"  with  a  pail  of  water,  either  here 
or  any  place  else  in  the  plant. 

7.  Another  small  room  above  the  one  where  the  packing  is 
done  has  one  window  which  is  not  opened.     The  manager  stated 
it  was  formerly  used  for  a  packing  room,  but  is  used  now  only 
for  storing  lumps  of  paris  green,  screened  from  the  drying  trays. 
The  inspector  found  a  shovel  apparently  used  in  shoveling  paris 
green,  by  the  side  of  a  partly  filled  barrel.     The  floor  and  walls 
and  the  stairway  leading  up  to  the  room  were  laden  with  paris 
green.      The  men  working  in  paris  green  have  less  work  and 
lighter  than  the  other  men,  there  being  several  hours  of  the  day 
when  they  have  nothing  to  do.     They  are  paid  by  the  day. 

8.  The  closet  for  the  men  consists  of  a  shanty  in  a  court, 
with  pipes  for  a  seat  over  a  trough-like  device,  which  floats  the 
excrement  and  carries  it  off. 

9.  The  thing  most  needed  in  this  place  is  a  bathroom  and  wash- 
room with  lockers  —  wooden  sinks  which  become  filled  with  the 
pigments  are  not  expected  to  be  used  by  the  workmen  as  wash- 
basins.    Nothing  at  all  is  done  for  the  health  of  the  employees 
except  providing  gloves  for  them.     Some  of  the  men  in  the  most 
dangerous  work   are  foreigners,   new   hands   at  this   work,   and 
ignorant  of  its  danger,  as  evidenced  by  the  manager's  statement. 
The  men  should  have  a  lunch  room.     As  it  is  they  have  no  place 
to  eat  except  in  the  midst  of  the  poisonous  material  which  they 
handle.     The  ventilation  should  be  improved,  particularly  in  the 
packing  rooms.     Automatic  devices  would  eliminate  some  of  the 
labor  now  most  dangerous. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  565 

APPENDIX  B. 

METHOD  OF  THE  INQUIRY. 

As  already  explained  in  the  prefatory  note  to  this  report,  this 
investigation  was  undertaken  as  a  part  of  the  work  in  a  course  on 
"Methods  of  Research  and  Statistics"  at  the  .Xew  York  School 
of  Philanthropy.  As  a  part  of  the  work  for  this  course  each  stu- 
djent  is  required  to  take  a  personal  part  in  some  active  investiga- 
tion or  study  of  some  problem  involving  the  original  use  of  the 
methods  which  are  outlined  in  the  lectures.  The  entire  class  for 
this  purpose  is  divided  into  groups,  one  of  which  undertook  the 
study  of  lead  poisoning.  This  study  was,  therefore,  necessarily 
limited  to  New  York  city. 

After  a  preliminary  study  of  the  literature  on  the  subject  of  lead 
poisoning  and  occupational  diseases  it  was  decided  that  an  indi- 
vidual study  of  cases  of  lead  poisoning  should  be  made,  and  that, 
as  far  as  possible,  the  factories  and  places  of  employment  of  these 
persons  were  to  bo  inspected.  As  a  method  of  getting  in  touch 
with  cases  of  lead  poisoning  certain  sources  were  discarded  at  the 
outset;  physicians,  individually,  knew  little  of  lead  poisoning,  and 
were  willing  to  give  out  less;  the  dispensaries  were  found  to  keep 
such  poor  records  and  the  addresses  that  they  did  have  were  so 
generally  incorrect  that  that  they  had  to  be  discarded;  the  factory 
officials  and  employers  were  liable  to  be  prejudiced  and  unwilling 
to  give  full  or  accurate  information ;  trade-unions  were  few  among 
the  workers  in  lead  industries,  and  inquiries  directed  to  them  have 
produced  small  results;  the  life  insurance  companies  yielded  no 
information  and  the  fraternal  societies  very  little.  The  main  sources 
of  information,  therefore,  were  the  hospitals,  the  Department  of 
Health  and  the  Bureau  of  Labor.  Special  thanks  are  due  the  offi- 
cers of  these  institutions,  especially  Dr.  O'Hanlon,  of  Bellevue, 
Dr.  Guilfoy,  of  the  Department  of  Health,  and  Mr.  Leonard  W. 
Hatch,  of  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 

The  records  in  the  hospitals  were  searched  for  cases  which  had 
been  diagnosed  as  lead  poisoning,  plumbism,  lead  colic,  painter's 
colic,  saturnine  poisoning,  encephlopathy  and  other  diseases. 


566  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASKS. 

The  name,  address,  date  of  entering  and  leaving  the  hospital, 
symptoms  of  each  individual  and  all  other  facts  shown  by  the  hos- 
jpital  record,  were  taken.  Each  of  these  cases,  so  far  as  time  per- 
mitted, was  then  visited  and  a  detailed  statement  of  the  history  of 
the  case  was  obtained. 

For  the  recording  of  the  facts  regarding  each  case  of  lead  poi- 
soning a  schedule  was  drawn  up.  The  main  facts  desired  were, — 
the  detailed  industrial  history  of  the  individual  to  discover,  as 
accurately  as  possible,  the  things  he  did,  and  what  the  possible 
sources  of  infection  were;  any  tendency  toward  abortion,  or 
tendency  toward  weakness  among  his  children;  and  lastly,  the  per- 
sonal habits  of  the  victim  —  habits  which  are  so  important  in  this 
disease.  The  schedule  as  drawn  up  and  later  corrected  to  obtain 
certain  additional  information  is  given  herewith. 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


567 


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OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 


FAMILY  HISTORY 


Given  Names  of 
Children 
in  Order  of  Birth 

Sex 

Date  of 
Birth 

Date  of 
Death 

Cause  of  Death 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

5 

6 

7 

8 

FACTS  CONCERNING  WIVES 


1.  Date  of  Birth 


Death 


Miscarriages,  date  of  each 


2. 


GENERAL  FACTS  (at  time  of  attack) 

1.  Were  instructions  given  you  concerning  the  dangers  of  the  work  and  how 

to  safeguard  yourself? 

2.  Were  such  instructions  posted  in  the  factory? 

3.  What  sort  of  breakfast  were  you  in  habit  of  eating? 

4.  How  much  tobacco  do  you  use  and  in  what  form? 

5.  How  much  alcoholic  drink  and  in  what  form? 

6.  Did  you  eat  in  the  workroom? 

7.  Did  you  wash  before  eating?  Hot  or  cold  water? 

8.  Do  you  change  your  clothing  before  leaving  factory?  At  home? 

9.  Did  you  wear  a  mustache?  Beard? 

10.  Can  poisoning  be  attributed  to  any  other  than  industrial  causes? 

Canned  goods,  water  pipes,  etc.? 

1 1 .  What  precautionary  devices  have  been  installed  in  the  lead  factories  where 

you  have  worked?  Ventilation,  hoods,  exhausts,  wash- 

rooms, soap,  towels,  hot  and  cold  water,  overalls,  lunchrooms,  lockers, 
doctor  respirators? 

12.  What  protective  devices  might  have  been  put  in? 

SYMPTOMS 

1.  Nature  of  attack 

2.  Diagnosis  by 

3.  Permanent  effects 


OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES.  569 

An  entirely  different  part  of  the  study  was  concerned  with  the 
factories  in  which  lead  in  some  one  of  its  many  forms  is  used. 
Special  inspections  were  made  of  the  factories  where  white  lead 
and  lead  oxide  were  made,  and  all  of  the  factories  in  this  industry 
were  inspected.  Factories  where  paints,  varnish,  dry  colors  and 
pigments  were  made  or  mixed,  were  also  inspected.  Other  indus- 
tries where  lead  was  known  to  be  employed  were  also  inspected,  but 
the  number  was  by  no  means  as  complete.  The  aim  of  these  in- 
spections was  not  to  count  the  toilets  or  windows,  or  to  find  chil- 
dren or  ungarded  machinery, —  it  was,  on  the  other  hand,  to  learn 
accurately  what  the  processes  of  manufacture  were,  what  the  dan- 
gerous processes  were  and  how  they  could  be  safeguarded. 

The  attempt  was  always  made  to  inspect  the  factory  where  a 
man  appeared  to  have  contracted  lead  poisoning  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  to  locate  the  exact  place  where  he  had  worked.  In  this 
way  it  was  possible  to  get  at  the  exact  cause  of  the  infection. 

A  large  number  of  photographs  were  taken,  —  many  of  them 
with  flashlights,  which  were  necessary  on  account  of  the  very  dark 
rooms  in  which  the  work  was  carried  on.  These  photographs  aim 
to  show  what  is  actually  being  done  and  not  especially  conditions 
which  are  bad,  or  conditions  which  are  in  any  way  out  of  the 
ordinary. 

All  the  information  which  was  collected  has  been  used,  with 
the  exception  of  a  few  schedules  which  were  so  incomplete  as  to 
be  utterly  useless.  We  bolieve  that  the  cases  presented  are  typical 
and  represent  very  nearly  the  true  proportion  as  between  the  dif- 
ferent industries. 


APPENDIX    VII 


HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES 
OF  NEW  YORK  CITY 

a  Memorandum  submitted  by  OWEN  R.  LOVEJOY,  General 
Secretary  National  Child  Labor  Committee. 

b  Memorandum  submitted  by  ELIZABETH  C.  WATSON,  of  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee. 

c  Photographs  submitted  by  the  NATIONAL  CHILD  LABOR  COM- 
MITTEE, THE  CONSUMER'S  LEAGUE  OF  NEW  YORK,  AND 
Miss  LILLIAN  D.  WALD,  Head  of  the  Nurses  Settlement. 
New  York. 


MEMORANDUM    ON    TENEMENT-HOUSE    WORK 
IN  NEW  YORK  CITY 

Submitted  by  OWEN  R.  LOVEJOY,  Secretary 
National  Child  Labor  Committee. 

NEW  YORK,  Jan.  12,  1912. 
DR.  GEORGE  M.  PRICE,  Bible  House,  City: 

DEAR  SIR. — From  the  reports  of  the  agents  of  the  National  Child 
Labor  Committee  on  tenement  house  work  in  this  city,  I  beg  to  sub- 
mit to  you  the  following  memorandum.  This  is  not  a  complete  re- 
port, as  the  work  is  still  in  progress,  but  will  indicate  the  nature  of 
information  gathered  along  lines  kindred  to  the  work  of  your 
Commission.  This  information,  in  our  judgment,  should  make 
a  strong  appeal  to  the  State  Legislature  on  behalf  of  the  con- 
tinuance of  your  Commission  and  a  special  appropriation  to 
cover  a  comprehensive  investigation  of  tenement  home  work. 

The  National  Child  Labor  Committee  has  employed  for  five 
weeks,  six  trained  investigators,  who  have  been  gathering  in- 
formation from  the  following  sources: 

1.  Records  of  the  State  Labor  Department. 

2.  Advertisements  for  home  workers  in  city  papers. 

3.  Factories  giving  out  home  work  with  statements  from  em- 

ployers as  to  the  number  and  location  of  these  workers. 

4.  Intensive  study  of  families  with  a  special  reference  to  em- 

ployment of  children  therein. 

I.  Eo'tent  of  Investigation: 

Number  of  manufacturing  establishments  visited.  .      38 

Number   of   families   visited 250 

Revoked   license   houses.  .  184 


574  HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

II.  Licensed  and  Unlicensed  Houses: 

In  addition  to  the  13,268  licensed  houses  in  which  tenements 
are  entitled  to  manufacture  or  assist  in  manufacturing  any  of 
the  forty-one  listed  articles  specified  in  section  100  of  the  Labor 
Law,  the  following  list  of  articles  have  been  seen  by  our  agents 
in  process  of  manufacture  in  tenement  houses.  None  of  these 
articles  are  on  the  list  requiring  even  the  annual  visit  from  the 
factory  inspector  to  ascertain  the  sanitary  condition  of  the  place: 

Aviation  caps. 
Automobile  caps. 
Sweaters. 

Crocheting :      Capes. 
Shawls. 
Dolls'  clothes. 
Slippers. 
Babies'     Sacques. 

Sweaters. 

Caps. 

Hoods. 

Booties. 
Clothing. 

Complete  outfits.     Automobile    caps,    jumpers, 
Doll's  Clothes:      ~  ,,,  , 

Doll  s  satchels.  hats,  etc. 

Kimonos,   etc. 
Teddy  Bear  Legs. 

Head  dresses. 

_..       0   .        Indian  suits:         0   . 
Play  Suits:   TT    i    o  •+     Suits. 

Uncle  bam  suits :  T 

Leggings. 

Beading  Moccasins. 
Beading  Bags. 

Fine  underwear. 

—    ,     .,    .        ,    ,,  ,.    ,        Chiffon  dress  patterns. 
Embroideries  of  all  kmdi :     _. . 

Linen  suits. 

Shirt  waists. 


HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 


675 


Embroideries  of  all  kinds : 


Jabots. 
Collars. 
Cloaks. 

Infants'  wear. 
Silk  stockings. 
Table  linen. 


Rosettes  of  ribbon: 
Rosettes  of  chiffon : 
Rosettes  of  chiffon  and  ribbon: 


For  slippers   and   hair 
ornaments. 


Ribbon  roses  and  fancy  bows  for  dress  trimmings. 

Fringes. 
Tassels. 
Cords. 
Passementaries :  Frogs. 

Buttons  (Braid.) 
Olives  (Braid.) 
Large  collars. 

Lace  by  yard. 
Dutch  collars. 
Sailor  collars. 
Revers. 
Irish  Crochet:     Cuffs. 

Buttons. 
Olives. 
Medallions. 
Yokes. 

Cutting  out  scallops. 
Trimming  threads. 
Cutting  and  folding  embroidered 
handkerchiefs. 


Machine-Made  Embroidery 


Velvet  or  silk  with  fancy  silk  braid  and 

buttons. 
Millinery  Ornaments:      0.  ...  ,    j         i     i  £ 

btraws  stitched  on  buckram  frame. 

Fancy  straw  or  velvet  and  braid  buckles. 
Braiding  Hat  Straws. 

Glove  Stitching:      Q     ' 

OlUC. 


576  HOME  WOBK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

Applique  cutting  —  letters  for  flags,  etc. 
Coil  winders  —  wire  coils  for  electric  devices. 

Lamp  shades;  brushes;  belts;  garters;  suspenders;  bead  work 
(necklaces)  ;  sorting  and  sewing  buttons  on  cards ;  setting  stones 
in  hat  pins  and  combs;  making  lambrequins  and  kimonos. 

///.  Difficulty  of  Securing  Accurate  Lists  of  Home  Workers: 

The  difficulty  experienced  by  officials  in  securing  accurate  lists 
of  home  workers  is  illustrated  by  the  following  incidents : 

On  November  28,  1911,  one  of  our  special  agents  visited  the 
nut  firm  No.  1  and  learned  from  the  manager  that  they  employ 
approximately  100  families  of  out-workers.  He  stated  that  all 
these  were  licensed  families.  When  asked  for  a  list  of  the  fam- 
ilies the  superintendent  at  first  refused,  then  said  he  would  get 
the  list  ready  to  be  called  for  the  next  day.  When  called  for, 
this  list  gave  51  names  and  addresses  (all  in  licensed  houses). 
On  investigating  houses  —  7  names  were  not  known  at  given  ad- 
dresses — 11  had  not  been  working  on  nuts  for  several  months 
past  —  and  of  41  families  an  intensive  study  showed  that  19 
lived  in  unlicensed  houses. 

IV.  Proportion  of  Licensed  and  Unlicensed  Houses  Visited: 

Brushes. —  Manufacture  of  brushes  requires  a  license.  Of  124 
families  given  by  brush  manufacturers  as  out-workers,  10  fami- 
lies were  found  to  live  in  licensed  houses,  114  families  in  un- 
licensed houses. 

Doll's  Clothes  (operating). —  Doll's  clothes  may  require  a 
license,  although  the  law  is  not  clear  on  this  point.  Of  families 
investigated,  44  families  live  in  licensed  houses;  91  families  in 
unlicensed  houses. 

Nut  Picking  —  Nut  picking  requires  no  license.  Among  out- 
workers investigated,  22  families  live  in  licensed  houses,  19  fami- 
lies in  unlicensed  houses. 

Embroidery. —  Embroidery  does  not 'require  a  license.  Of 
families  investigated,  78  families  lived  in  licensed  houses;  201 
families  live  in  unlicensed  houses. 


HOME  WOKK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES.  577 

V.  Employment  of  Children  in  Tenement  Manufacture: 
Tho  following  tables  are  reported: 

Nuts. —  41  families  visited,  9  families  have  no  children  of 
woridng  age,  32  families  had  91  children  between  the  ages  of  3 
and  16,  of  these  91  children,  77  were  found  at  work,  of  the  fol- 
lowing ages : 

Number  of  Children  Ages 

2 3V2 

6 4 

7 5 

4 6 

8 7 

10 8 

3 9 

7 10 

9 11 

11 12 

6 13 

3 14 

Brushes. — Forty-one  familes  visited,  containing  72  children.  Out 
of  these,  69  children  were  working,  of  the  following  ages: 

Number  of  Children  Ages 

2 4 

1 5 

7 6 

3 7 

5 8 

11 9 

6 10 

4 11 

6 12 

4 13 

16 14 

2 15 

2 16 

19  '    ^ 


578  HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

Doll's  Clothes  (making). —  Sixty-six  families  visited  had  35 
children  from  4  to  14  years  of  age;  35  children  were  found  work- 
ing of  the  following  ages : 


of  Children 

Ages 

2  

4 

2  

5 

4  

6 

3  

7 

3  

8 

2  

9 

7  

10 

4  

11 

4  

12 

3  

13 

1. 

.14 

Flowers. — The  extent  to  which  child  labor  exists  in  this  form 
of  home  work  is  impossible  to  discover.  Our  report  showed  that 
during  the  week  December  8-15,  15  houses  visited  showed  51 
children  from  7  to  14  years  of  age  working  on  flowers.  The  fol- 
lowing week,  December  17-28,  a  survey  of  33  families  showed  a 
list  of  70  home-working  children  from  4  to  15  years  of  age,  dis- 
tributed by  age  as  in  the  following  chart: 

Number  of  Children  Ages 

3 4 

7 5 

3 6 

6 7 

4 8 

8 9 

10 10 

9 11 

9 12 

5 13 

5 14 

1.  .15 


HOME  WORK  ix  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES.  579 

Total,  70  children  working  on  flowers  during  Christmas  vaca- 
tion week  in  33  families. 

VI.  Complete  Inspection  is  Impossible-' 

Under  the  present  license  systems  manufacture  of  the  articles 
specified  in  the  list  is  presumably  subject  to  inspection,  but  at- 
tention is  called  to  the  fact  that  many  of  these  goods  are  made  in 
homes  beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Factory  Inspection  Depart- 
ment of  New  York.  We  have  records  of  doll  firms  sending  cloth- 
ing to  be  made  to  Atlantic  City,  N.  J.,  Easton,  Pa.,  Hoboken, 
N.  J.,  Elizabeth,  N.  J.,  Westfield,  N.  J.,  points  in  Long  Island  and 
Connecticut  and  some  even  as  far  away  as  Florida.  Many  of  the 
people  receiving  these  goods  to  be  made  are  themselves  con- 
tractors who  subcontract  their  work.  It  is  impossible  for  the  Fac- 
tory Inspection  Department  to  follow  the  workers  in  these  ramifi- 
cations. 

One  embroidery  firm  reported  that  they  send  their  embroidery 
into  outlying  districts  to  be  put  up  in  skeins,  and  the  same  firm 
sends  out  underwear  to  be  made  by  hand  at  home.  Then  the  un- 
derwear made  in  homes  and  skeins  of  floss  prepared  in  homes  go 
out  again  to  another  set  of  workers  who  embroider  the  garments. 
This  firm  has  350  outworkers  and  20  contractors  on  embroidery 
alone. 

VII.  Revoked  Licenses: 

Our  agents  followed  up  184  houses  in  which  the  license  has  been 
revoked  and  which  are  listed  in  the  monthly  bulletin  of  the  State 
Department  of  Labor  as  having  licenses  revoked.  The  manufac- 
turer has  been  officially  cautioned  not  to  give  work  to  people  living 
at  these  addresses.  Our  agents  report  the  following  list  of  the  184 
houses: 

46  houses  torn    down. 
12  houses  turned  into  lodging  houses. 
126  tenements  standing. 


580  HOME  WORK  IN  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

In  18  of  the  126  tenements  home  work  was  being  done.  The 
following  articles  were  being  made: 

Artificial  flowers.  Embroidering  pillow  tops. 

Finishing  men's  clothing.  Making  flannelette  underskirts. 

Making  hats  Lining  fur  collars. 

Neckwear.  Silk  flowers. 

Sewing  fancy  feathers.  Running  ribbons  in  underwear. 

Picking  nuts.  Embroidering  underwear. 

All  of  this  list  requires  a  license,  except  embroidering  pillow 
tops. 

In  all  the  houses  in  which  finishing  of  clothing,  working  on  silk 
flowers  for  neckwear  and  picking  nuts  were  carried  on,  children 
were  found  at  work. 

In  view  of  the  information  we  have  gathered,  only  a  meager 
summary  of  which  is  submitted  above,  it  is  the  opinion  of  the 
National  Child  Labor  Committee  that  this  problem  presents  one 
of  the  most  important  phases  of  the  industrial  situation  which  the 
Factory  Investigating  Commission  was  appointed  to  study.  In  a 
recent  conference  with  representatives  of  the  New  York  Child 
Labor  Committee,  The  National  and  New  York  City  Consumers' 
League,  and  other  organizations  interested  in  the  welfare  of  chil- 
dren, I  was  directed  to  advise  you  that  we  strongly  urge  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  Commission  and  recommend  that  an  appropriation 
be  asked  to  cover  an  adequate  investigation  of  this  subject.  My 
advisors,  many  of  whom  are  familiar  with  the  details  of  such  in- 
vestigations, estimated  that  not  less  than  $15,000  would  be  required 
to  make  this  study,  although  by  selecting  special  districts  and  spe- 
cial industries,  doubtless  a  less  amount  would  yield  illuminating  and 
accurate  results. 

Respectfully  yours, 

OWEN  R.  LOVEJOY, 

General  Secretary. 


MEMORANDUM   ON   SOME   PHASES   OF   HOME- 
WORK  IN  THE  NEW  YORK  TENEMENTS 

By  Miss  ELIZABETH  C.  WATSON,  of  the  National  Child 
Labor  Committee. 

The  family  budgets  of  100  families  employed  in  the  feather  in- 
dustry show  that  the  budget  is  small,  not  because  the  father  is 
lazy,  but  because  his  daily  wage  is  not  sufficient  to  carry  him 
through  the  dull  season  of  his  industry. 

Many  of  them,  skilled  workmen,  carpenters,  bricklayers,  rock 
drillers,  etc.,  etc.,  have  a  good  daily  wage,  but  the  entire  situation 
is  summed  up  when  we  begin  to  consider  the  days  for  which  he  is 
not  paid: 

52  Sundays. 

5  legal  holidays  (out  of  12  legal  holidays). 
143  day®  of  rain,  winter  weather  and  slack  seasons  when  there 
is  no  work. 

Many  of  the  men,  day  laborers,  stone  workers,  etc.,  are  subject  to 
rheumatism,  brought  on  through  exposure  in  the  work,  are  unable 
to  work  in  the  open  when  the  weather  is  cold.  The  family  sup- 
plement this  income  by  taking  work  into  the  home,  where  we  fre- 
quently find  this  same  out-of-work  father  helping  in  the  home  in- 
dustry. 

In  some  industries  we  find,  at  times,  the  work  in  the  factory 
slack,  workers  laid  off  or  on  part  time,  while  large  amounts  of  work 
are  being  given  to  the  house  workers.  Again  we  find  places  where 
none  of  the  making  of  th.>  article  is  done  in  the  factory  and  only 
a  small  group  of  worker?  are  employed  there  to  put  materials  into 
shape  for  the  jobber.  (Brushes  particularly.) 

Again  we  will  find  a  small  storage  room  just  for  the  giving  out 
and  receiving  of  the  finished  work.  Such  places  sometimes  have 
400  outworkers,  some  of  whom  are  again  contracting  to  outwork- 
ers, and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  show  up  the  insidious  outreach- 
ings  into  new  districts,  other  towns,  etc.  Recently  we  have  found 
an  industry  that  sends  its  work  all  over  the  country,  the  manu- 
facturer himself  —  a  German,  resenting  a  system  whereby  he  does 
not  know  the  conditions  under  which  his  goods  are  being  made. 


S8S  HOME  WORK  ix  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

The  competition  between  each  other,  and  with  factory  hands, 
makes  it  impossible  to  regulate  or  standardise  a  wage  for  women 
in  any  industries  involving  home  manufacture. 

In  order  to  show  the  effect  of  this  on  wage,  we  have  only  to  men- 
tion what  has  happened  in  willowing  of  ostrich  feathers.  Three 
years  ago  when  the  trade  started,  there  were  few  workers  in  the 
field.  Fifteen  cents  was  paid  for  tying  one  set  of  knots  per  inch. 
The  following  season  more  workers  were  in  the  field  and  the  price 
went  down  to  thirteen  cents.  Then  it  dropped  to  eleven,  nine, 
seven,  five,  and  last  summer,  just  three  years  from  the  time  it 
started,  the  workers  were  receiving  three  cents  an  inch;  and  this 
fall  they  are  working  by  the  piece.  Formerly  the  price  paid  per 
inch  in  the  shop  was  from  two  to  three  cents  an  inch  more  than 
in  the  homes,  but  this  fall  the  price  paid  in  the  shop  is  three  cents 
an  inch,  the  same  price  that  was  being  paid  in  the  homes.  One 
plume,  which  contained  8,613,  took  a  woman  and  two  children 
a  day  and  a  third  to  tie. 

Health. —  I  have  seen  a  girl  in  the  descumating  stage  of  scarlet 
fever  (when  her  throat  was  so  bad  that  she  could  not  speak  above 
a  whisper)  tying  ostrich  feathers  in  the  Italian  district.  These 
feathers  were  being  made  for  one  of  the  biggest  feather  factories 
in  the  lower  part  of  the  city.  She  told  me  herself  she  had  been 
sick  with  scarlet  fever  for  ten  days,  but  had  been  upstairs  in  a 
neighbor's  rooms  working  for  over  a  week.  The  skin  on  her  hands 
was  in  such  condition  as  to  attract  my  attention  and  be  recog- 
nized at  once  as  scarlet  fever  although  she  further  authenticated 
it  by  telling  me  the  doctor  stated  she  had  scarlet  fever. 

I  have  seen  a  baby  two  years  old  in  its  mother's  arms  (while 
she  was  finishing  clothing),  whose  head  was  a  raw  sore  from  a 
disease  known  as  inpetigo,  a  very  disagreeable  and  very  contagious, 
though  not  dangerous  skin-  disease. 

I  have  seen  men,  women  and  girls  with  tuberculosis,  who  sail 
they  had  tuberculosis,  were  going  to  tuberculosis  clinics,  working 
on  dolls  clothes,  picking  nuts,  working  on  feathers,  working  on 
crocheting  slippers. 

Our  investigators  have  told  us  many  stories  of  work  being  done 
in  homes  where  there  were  sick  mothers  or  sick  mem- 
bers of  the  family  whose  cases  after  being  reported  and  looked 
after,  proved  to  be  cases  of  tonsilitis. 


HOME  WORK   ix  TIIK  T I:\KMKXT  HOUSES. 


583 


IN  FAMILIES  DOI.V.  NUTS  A. VI)  DOLLS'  CLOTHES 


OCCUPATION  OF  FATHER 

Wage 
per 
week 

Rent 
per 
month 

Number 
in 
family 

Number 
of 
children 

Age  of 
oldest 

child 

Age  of 
youngest 
chiki 

Baker  

$1S  00 

$14  00 

6 

4 

12 

3 

Barber  

12  00 

15  00 

3 

1 

17 

Bookbinder  

15  00 

11  50 

8 

4 

15 

10 

Bottler  ....                              .... 

12  00 

8  00 

3 

1 

Butcher  

15  00 

13  00 

3 

1 

14 

Candy  factory  

15  00 

11  50 

8 

6 

15 

5 

Cap  cutter  (in  season)            .  . 

20  00 

18  00 

6 

4 

17 

4 

Carpenter.  .          .        

18  00 

12  00 

10 

8 

17 

1 

Cement  

12  00 

6  00 

4 

2 

8 

3 

Chauffeur               .    .              ..... 

12  00 

12  00 

2 

Coal  man  

12  00 

13  00 

4 

2 

16 

11  m 

Cobbler 

16  00 

17  50 

5 

3 

7 

22  moe 

Cook  

9  00 

11  00 

2 

Driver  

15  00 

11  50 

4 

2 

15 

10 

Driver  

15  00 

13  00 

5 

3 

4 

2 

Driver  

13  00 

12  50 

5 

3 

13 

10 

Dii.-er 

12  00 

14  00 

6 

4 

15 

5 

Elevator  man  

9  00 

15  00 

7 

2 

7 

6 

Factory  hand  

12  00 

15  00 

7 

4 

20 

9 

Furniture  cleaner  

9  00 

17  00 

7 

5 

18 

8 

Gen   El.  Co                  

10  00 

15  00 

6 

3 

13 

Q 

Hod  carrier    

15  00 

14  00 

5 

3 

11 

I| 

Insurance  agent  

10  00 

16  00 

4 

3 

13 

9 

10  00 

10  00 

4 

2 

9 

2 

Jewelry  mender  

12  00 

5  00 

3 

1 

Laborer  

15  00 

12  00 

6 

4 

17 

9 

9  00 

16  00 

4 

2 

14 

7 

Laborer  ....        

9  00 

8  00 

3 

1 

6 

Machinist  

12  00 

13  00 

3 

1 

1  week 

11  00 

11  00 

2 

National  biscuit    .  .            ... 

12  00 

11  00 

4 

2 

2 

Packer  

12  00 

13  00 

3 

2 

2 

2  mos 

Painter  

15  00 

12  00 

5 

3 

3 

2 

Pencil  factory                   

9  00 

13  00 

3 

1 

10 

Plumber                 

24  00 

14  00 

5 

3 

9 

5 

Policeman  

29  00 

16  00 

8 

6 

16 

4 

Polisher  (brass  work)  

12  00 

11  00 

3 

•1 

14 

Printer  

12  00 

7  00 

2 

Rag  man  

10  00 

13  00 

8 

6 

15 

6 

10  00 

10  00 

6 

4 

18 

14 

15  00 

15  00 

7 

4 

19 

9 

Saloon  clerk  .    ...         

9  00 

12  00 

10 

6 

16 

6 

10  00 

11  00 

2 

10  00 

17  00 

6 

4 

18 

11 

Stone  maker    

8  00 

12  00 

6 

17 

9 

Street  cleaner  

9  00 

12  50 

5 

3 

17 

9 

Switchman  

1  050 

10  00 

7 

5 

14 

7  mos. 

Tailor  

14  00 

16  00 

5 

3 

11 

4 

Tailor 

12  00 

13  00 

6 

4 

7 

5 

Tel  Co 

15  00 

13  00 

3 

1 

6 

Dead 

12  00 

4 

2 

18 

5 

584  HOME  WOKK  ix  THE  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 

IN  100  FAMILIES  DOING  FEATHERS. 
OCCUPATION  OF  FATHERS. 

Families 

*Building  trades 36 

*Unskilled  labor i'."> 

Shops  and  stands 5 

Small  trades '. 15 

*Ice  and  coal  dealers 6 

Saloons - 

Miscellaneous 4 

Incapacitated  or  dead 7 


Total  .  100 


''Average  working  year  200  days. 


APPENDIX  VII 


Photographs  Submitted  by  the  Consumers'  League  and 

Miss  Lillian  D.  Wald  of  the  Nurses'  Settlement, 

New  York 


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Photographs   Submitted  by  the   National  Child   Labor 
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Bronx).  Florence  V.,  .12  years  Jold,  and  sister  Jennie,  working  on  crochet  hats,  in 
dirty  kitchen  of  tenement,  Jerome\A. venue.  They  make  heavy  hats,  muffs,  scarfs,  slippers, 
jetc.  Jennie,  15  years  old,  works  in  a  Tremont  avenue  factory  part  of  the  time.  Can 
make  1J  dozen  heavy  hats  a  day.  Florence  makes  five  hats  in  half  a  day  being  in 
school  only  half  a  day.  Have  been  at  it  one  year.  Photo  by  L.  W.  Hine,  Dec.,  1911. 


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APPENDIX   VIII 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION  AND 
DIGEST  OF  REPLIES  RECEIVED 


I.   QUESTIONNAIRE    588 

II.  ALPHABETICAL  LIST  OF  PERSONS  REPLYING 600 

III  DIGEST  OF  REPLIES 603 

Jurisdiction  over  Factories 603 

State  Labor  Law 610 

Museum  of  Safety 617 

Medical  Inspection 620 

Power  of  Commissioner 622 

Penalties  for  Violation  of  Law 625 

Registration  and  Licensing  of  Factories 627 

Water  closets 631 

Removal  of  Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes 632 

Ventilation 633 

Eating  Meals  in  Workrooms 638 

Lighting  Facilities    640 

Accident  Prevention 641 

Occupational  Diseases    643 

Employment  of  Women  and  Children  in  Industry.  .  646 

Hours  of  Labor 649 

Bakeries 655 

Fire    Prevention,     Fire    Escapes,    Building    Con- 
struction    660 

Manufacturing  in  Tenement  Houses 689 

Industrial  Commission 691 

Continuation  Schools   693 

General  Matters    694 


I.     QUESTIONNAIRE 

LIST  OF  QUESTIONS  CONCEKMXG  METHODS  FOR  IM- 
PROVING THE  CONDITIONS  UNDER  WHICH  MAN- 
UFACTURING IS  CARRIED  ON  IN  CITIES  OF  THE 
FIRST  AND  SECOND  CLASS  OF  THE  STATE 

JURISDICTION    OVER    FACTORIES    AND    MANUFACTURING    ESTAB- 
LISHMENTS IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

1  a.  Should  there  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city  of 
New  York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State? 

fe.  Should  there  be  one  or  three  Commissioners  at  the  head  of 
each  of  those  Departments  ? 

2.  Should  the  Board  cf  Health  of  New  York  city  have  sole 
jurisdiction  over  bakeries  in  tenement  houses  and  elsewhere^ 

3.  Should  the  Tenement  House  Department  of  the  city  of  New 
York  have  sole  jurisdiction  over  all  manufacturing  in  tenement 
houses  and  over  bakeries  and  confectionery  establishments  con- 
ducted in  tenement  houses? 

4.  Should  there  be  a  Bureau  of  Inspection  established   whose 
function  it  shall  be  to  inspect  factories  and  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments and  report  existing  conditions  to  the  different  depart- 
ments charged  with  the  duty  of  enforcing  the  provisions  of  the 
law  on  the  subject;  the  Bureau  of  Inspection  to  report  the  facts 
to  the  responsible  department,  the  latter  to  secure  compliance  with 
the  provisions  of  the  law  applicable  to  the  condition  reported? 

5.  Should  there  be  a  new  department  established  for  the  city 
of  New  York  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  factories  and 
manufacturing  establishments  other  than  those  carried  on  in  tene- 
ment houses  (the  new  department  to  possess  all  the  powers  which 
are  now  held  by  the  State  Labor  Department  in  the  city  of  New 


QUESTIONNAIRE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION.  589 

York,  the  Building,  Fire  and  Health  Departments  of  the  city  with 
reference  to  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments)? 

6.  What  bureaus  should  be  established  in  such  new  department? 

7.  What  suggestions  have  you  tending  to  lessen  or  do  away  with 
the  duplication  of  inspections  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  various 
city  and  State  departments? 

8.  What  other  suggestions  have  you  which  would  tend  to  cen- 
tralize the  authority  and  responsibility  for  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws  relating  to  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  in  the 
city  of  New  York? 

STATE  LABOK  LAW. 
Factory  Inspection: 

9.  Is  the  present  system  of  factory  inspection  adequate? 

10.  How    often    should    manufacturing   establishments   be    in- 
spected. 

11.  Should  the  number  of  inspections  a  year  depend  upon  the 
character  of  the  industry? 

12.  How  many  factory  inspectors  should   the  Department  of 
Labor  have? 

(a)   For  the  City  of  New  York  ? 
(&)   For  the  rest  of  the  State? 

13.  How  many  supervising  inspectors  should  the  Department 
of  Labor  have? 

14.  How  can  the  services  of  inspectors  with  technical  knowledge 
be  procured? 

15  a.  Should  violation  orders  be  sent  direct  to  the  violator 
from  the  sub-offices  of  the  Department  of  Labor  instead  of  having 
to  go  through  the  Albany  office? 


590  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

15  b.  What  measure?  should  be  adopted  to  do  away  with  the 
duplication  of  inspections  by  city  departments  and  the  State  De- 
partment of  Labor  and  to  bring  about  the  necessary  co-operation 
between  city  and  State  officials  charged  with  the  duty  of  inspecting 
factories  and  manufacturing  establishments? 

Museum  of  Safety: 

16.  Should  there  be  a  Museum  of  Safety  established? 
(a)  As  a  branch  of  the  State  Labor  Department  \ 
(6)  As  a  private  institution  endowed  by  the  State? 

17.  Should  the  Labor  Department  publish  and  circulate  from 
time  to  time  a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices  in  the  various 
trades  and  industries? 

Medical  Inspection: 

18.  Should  there  be  a  division  of  medical  inspection  in  the 
State  Labor  Department? 

19.  Should  there  be  a  board  of  medical  advisers  to  the  State 
Commissioner  of  Labor  appointed  by  the  Governor? 

Power  of  Commissioner  to  Make  Rules  and  Regulations: 

20.  Should  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  be  given  the  power  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation  in  different  industries? 

21.  Should  there  be  a  board  of  technical  experts  appointed  by 
the  Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner  in  the  formulation  of 
these  rules  and  regulations  and  their  revision  from  time  to  time? 

Penalties  for  Violation  of  Law: 

22.  What  additional  summary  powers  should  be  given  to  the 
Commissioner  of  Labor  to  enforce   the  provisions  of  the  Labor 
Law? 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  591 

23.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  to  bring  about  a  more 
speedy  and  effective  punishment  for  violations  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Labor  Law? 

Registration  and  Licensing  of  Factories: 

24.  Should  there  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  of  all 
factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  State  ? 

25.  Should  plans  be  filed  showing  the  location  of  machinery, 
partitions,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved  before  any  new  factory 
or  manufacturing  establishment  is  operated? 

26.  Should  a  license  be  required  (a)  for  all  factories  and  manu- 
facturing establishments?  (6)  In  what  cases  should  such  license 
be  required  ? 

Water  Closets: 

27.  Should  there  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the  num- 
ber of  toilets  to  be  installed?     How  many  should  be  required 
for  each  25  persons  employed? 

Removal  of  Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes: 

28.  What  provisions  should  be  added  to  the  law  that  will  cover 
the  removal  of  dust  caused  by  materials  used  in  an  industry  or  by 
the  nature  of  the  industry  itself  rather  than  by  machinery  ?  ? 

29.  What  measures  should  be  adopted  for  the  removal  of  gases 
and  fumes? 

Ventilation: 

30.  Should  there  be  j,  standard  of  ventilation  ? 

31.  What  should  the  standard  of  ventilation  be? 

32.  How  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person  in  the  day 
time?     (a)  When  gas  is  used  for  lighting  purposes?     (&)  When 
electric  lights  are  used? 


592  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

33.  How  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person  in  the  night 
time? 

34.  When  should  mechanical  ventilation  be  made  mandatory  ? 

35.  (a)   Should  the  number  of  persons  employed  be  limited  in 
proportion  to  the  floor  area?     What  should  the  standard  be? 

(&)  Should  there  be  a  standard  of  temperature  in  all  factories 
and  manufacturing  establishments  ?  What  should  the  standard  be  ? 
Eating  Meals  in  Workrooms: 

36.  Should  the  eating  of  meals  in  work  shops  be  prohibited 
generally?     In  what  specific  industries  should  it  be  prohibited? 

Lighting  Facilities: 

37.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  to  improve  artificial 
lighting  facilities  in  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  ? 

38.  Should  there  be  a  standard  of  intensity  and  brilliancy  of 
light,  and  what  should  this  standard  ba 

Accident  Prevention: 

39.  Should  there  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to  main- 
tain lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings  ? 

40.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  that  would  tend  to 
prevent  elevator  accidents? 

Occupational  Diseases: 

41.  What  is  the  extent  of  occupational  poisonings  and  diseases 
in  the  State  of  New  York? 

42.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  to  check  such  poison- 
ings and  diseases? 

43.  Do  you  favor  compulsory  physical  examination  of  employees 
in  dangerous  industries? 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  593 

44.  llo\v   can   physicians   co-operate   to   bring   about    a    more 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  prevalence  and  extent  of  occupational 
poisoning  or  diseases  and  the  method  of  combating  them  ? 

45.  What  is  the  extent  of  industrial  consumption  among  factory 
workers  ?    What  measures  should  be  adopted  to  check  the  disease  ? 

Employment  of  Women  and  Children  in  Industry: 

46.  In  what  industries  should  the  employment  of  girls  be  pro- 
hibited ?     a.  Under  16  years  of  age?     6.  Under  21  years? 

47.  In  what  industries  should  the  employment  of  women  be 
prohibited  ? 

48.  In  what  industries  should  the  employment  of  males  be 
prohibited?     a.  Under  16  years?     fc.  Under  21  years? 

49.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  to  prevent  the  em- 
ployment of  physically  unfit  children?     Should  there  be  a  com- 
pulsory physical  examination  of  children  periodically  up  to  18 
years  of  age  in  all  industries  ? 

50.  How  should  the  employment  of  women  be  prohibited  im-. 
mediately  before  and  after  child  birth  ? 

Hours  of  Labor: 

51.  What  changes  would  you  recommend  in  the  existing  laws 
relating  to  the  number  of  hours  per  day  or  week  that  women  or 
children  are  permitted  to  work  ? 

52.  How  can  seven  days  in  the  week  labor  be  prevented  in  all 
industries  ? 

53.  Should  female  minors  or  male  minors  between  the  ages  of 
16  and  18  years  be  under  any  circumstances  permitted  to  work 
more  than  ten  hours  ? 

54.  Should  male  minors  between  16  and  18  be  permitted  to 
work  after  10  p.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M.  ? 


59-Jr  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

55.  Should  the  number  of  hours  of  work  per  day  or  week  be 
limited  in  the  case  of  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  18  and  21 
years  ? 

56.  Should  a  one-hour  lunch  period  be  made  mandatory? 

Bakeries: 

57.  Should  the  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  be  prohibited? 

a.  In  case  of  bakeries  already  in  existence? 

b.  In  the  future  ? 

58.  What  standard  of  ventilation  should  be  made  mandatory 
in  existing  cellar  or  basement  bakeries  ? 

59.  Should  existing  bakeries  in  which  the  distance  between  the 
floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet  be  declared  unlawful  ? 

60.  Should  existing  bakeries,  the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth 
greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent 
to  the  building,  be  prohibited  ? 

61.  Should  employees   in  bakeries  be  required  to  furnish   a 
medical  certificate  of  fitness  ? 

62.  Should  there  be  a  compulsory  physical  examination  made 
periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries? 

63.  What  should  be  the  minimum  requirements  of  ventilation, 
light,  height  of  ceiling,  distance  below  street  level,  in  basement 
bakeries  to  be  opened  in  the  future? 

64.  Should  all  bakeries  be  licensed? 

Fire      Prevention,      Fire-Escape      Facilities      and      Building 
Construction: 

65.  Should  smoking  in  any  part  of  the  factory  or  manufactur- 
ing establishment  during  working  hours  be  made  a  crime  ? 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  595 

66.  Should  t'he  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  in  any 
part  of  a  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  be  prohibited? 

67  a.  What  can  be  done  to  prevent  spread  of  fire  because  of 
the  inflammable  material  used  in  manufacture? 

b.  Should   doors   and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  be 
painted  red  ? 

c.  Should  such  sashes  be  of  metal  ? 

d.  Should  windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  be  made  of  wired 
glass  ? 

68.  Should  any  change  in  the  interior  of  a  manufacturing  es- 
tablishment be  permitted  only  after  plans  therefor  have  been  filed 
and  approved? 

69.  Should  fire  drills  be  made  mandatory  in  all  manufacturing 
establishments  —  how  often  ? 

70.  Is  it  practicable  to  compel  the  installation  of  a  so-called 
cooperative  drill  for  the   employees  of  different  manufacturing 
establishments  in  the  same  building? 

71.  What  plan  would  have  to  be  adopted  ? 

72.  What  value  would  separate  and  independent  fire  drills  for 
different  manufacturing  establishments  in  one  building  have  ? 

73.  Should  the   installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  be  made 
mandatory  in  all  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  ? 

74.  Should  the  mandatory  requirement  of  automatic  sprinklers 
depend 

(a)    Fpou  the  character  of  the  industry?  or 

(6)   Upon  the  number  of  persons  employed  in  the  establish 
ment?  or 

(c)   Upon  the  distance  of  the  establishment  above  the  street 
level ?  or 


596  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

(d)  Upon  the  height  of  the  building  in  which  the  establishment 
is  located  irrespective  of  the  number  of  employees  in  the  particular 
establishment  or  its  location  ? 

75.  In  what  factories  or  manufacturing  establishments  should 
the  installation  of  an  auxiliary  fire-alarm  system  to  wain  the 
occupants  of  the  building  itself  be  made  mandatory? 

76.  How  can  such  a  fire-alarm  system  be  operated  practically  in 
a  loft  building  with  numerous  independent  establishments  ? 

77.  In  what  factories  or  manufacturing  establishments  should 
the  installation  of  an  automatic  fire-alarm  system  to  communicate 
with  Fire  Headquarters  be  made  mandatory  ? 

78.  Should  manufacturing  be  prohibited  above  a  certain  num- 
ber of  stories  ?     What  should  be  the  maximum  ? 

79.  What  should  be  the  penalty  for  locked  doors  in  a  factory 
or  manufacturing  establishment  while  there  are  employees  on  the 
premises  ? 


80.  What  measures  would  you  recommend  that  would  provide 
for  the  proper  spacing  of  machinery  ?     How  wide  should  the 
clear  passageway  between  machines  be? 

81.  Should  the  law  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  doors 
or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes  ? 

82.  Should  the  law  prohibit  the  obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire- 
escapes  by  window  sills? 

83.  Should  outside  fire-escapes  be  constructed  at  or  about  the 
floor  level  of  the  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  in  such 
a  manner  that  no  climbing  over  window  sills  would  be  necessary  ? 

84.  In  all  cases  of  outside  fire-escapes  should  there  be  a  standard 
of  construction  as  in  the  Tenement  House  Law  ? 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  597 

85.  What  kind  of  ladders  or  stairways  would  you  recommend 
from  the  lowest  balcony  to  the  ground  ? 

8G.  Should   the   number   of   people   permitted   to   work   in   a 
factory  be  dependent  upon  the  number  and  kind  of  exits  provided  ? 

87.  Could  such  a  provision  be  made  specific  or  would  it  be 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  responsible  authority  in  each  particular 
case? 

88.  Should   every   manufacturing   establishment   have   a   card 
posted   shoving  the  maximum  number   of  people   permitted  to 
work  in  it  ? 

89.  Should  factories  and  loft  buildings  be  licensed  for  certain 
designated  occupations  and  should  changes  in  the  nature  of  the 
occupancy  be  prohibited  unless  expressly  authorized  by  the  re- 
sponsible authority? 

90.  Should  stairways  that  wind  around  elevators  be  ordered 
removed  in  existing  buildings? 

91.  Should  existing  elevator  shafts  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fire- 
proof walls  ? 

92.  Should  existing  stairways  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fire-proof 
walls  ? 

93.  Should  fire  walls  be  ordered  installed  in  existing  buildings? 
(a)   In  buildings  25  ft.  x  80  ft. 

(6)   In  buildings  50  ft.  x  80  ft, 
(c)   In  buildings  75  ft.  x  80  ft. 

94.  Should  fire  towers  be  ordered  in  any  existing  buildings  ? 
In  what  kind  ? 

95.  What  provisions  would  you  recommend  to  secure  adequate 
fire-escape  exits  in  buildings  to  be  constructed  in  the  future  ? 


598  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

96.  What  changes  would  you  recommend  in  the  present  Build- 
ing Code  ? 

97.  What  criticisms  have  you  to  make  of  the  recent  Sullivan- 
Hoey  law  and  what  changes  in  that  law  would  you  recommend? 

Manufacturing  in  Tenement  Houses: 

98  a.  How    should    manufacturing    in    tenement    houses    be 
restricted  ? 

&.  To  what  extent  are  young  children  illegally  employed  in 
manufacturing  conducted  in  tenement  houses  ? 

c.  What  measures  should  be  adopted  to  prevent  such 
employment  ? 

Industrial  Commission: 

99  a.  Should  there  be  a  permanent  industrial  commission  ap- 
pointed to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Department  of 
Labor  ? 

&.  How  should  such  commission  be  made  up  ? 
c.  What  should  be  its  duties  and  powers? 

Continuation   Schools  for  Minors   Employed   in  Factories   and 
Manufacturing  Establishm ents: 

100  a.  Do    you    advocate    the    establishment    of    continuation 
schools  ? 

6.  How  should  they  be  organized  ? 

c.  Between  what  ages  should  compulsory  attendance  in  such 
schools  be  required  ? 

d.  What  part  of  the  day  should  be  devoted  to  such  schools  ? 

General  Matters: 

101.  What  other  suggestions  of  any  kind  have  you  that  would 
tend  to  bring  about  a  thorough  and  regular  inspection  of  factories 
and  manufacturing  establishments  and  protect  the  health  and 
safety  of  the  operators  therein? 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  599 

102.  Are  you  familiar  with  any  conditions  in  factories  and 
manufacturing  establishments  that  you  think  would  be  of  interest 
to  the  Commission  or  that  should  be  investigated  by  the 
Commission  ? 

Note: 

Although  many  of  the  questions  admit  of  a  categorical  answer 
it  is  hoped  that  your  views  and  the  reasons  for  the  position  you 
take  will  also  be  set  forth.  In  answering,  reference  may  be  made 
to  the  numbers  of  the  questions. 

Dated  New  York,  December  6th,  1911. 

ROBERT  F.  WAGNER, 

Chairman. 
ABRAM  I.  ELKUS, 

Counsel. 


II.    LIST  OF  PERSONS  REPLYING  TO  QUESTION- 
NAIRE  SUBMITTED  BY  THE  COMMISSION 

Battle,  George  Gordon,  Oounselor-at-law. 

Bensel,  Walter,  M.  D.,  Sanitary  Superintendent  Department 
of  Health,  New  York. 

Callacy,  G.  B.,  Secretary  Bakers'  Union,  Local. 
Croker,  E.  F.,  ex-Chief  Fire  Department,  New  York. 

Davis,  Gherardi  A.,  Counselor-at-law,  formerly  Deputy  Police 
Commissioner,  New  York. 

De  Forest,  Robert  W.,  formerly  Tenement  House  Commis- 
sioner, New  York. 

Dix,  S.  M.,  Expert  Accountant,  Insurance. 
Fox,  E.  F.,  Secretary  International  Moulders'  Union,  Local  246. 
Ferguson,  J.  W.,  Contractor. 

Freeman,  J.  R.,  Consulting  Engineer,  Board  of  Water  Supply, 
New  York. 

Goler,  George  W.,  Dr.,  Health  Officer,  Rochester. 

Grace,  Charles,  Legislative  Agent,  New  York  State  Associa- 
tion of  Journeymen  Plumbers,  etc. 

Gray,   J.   P.,  President  Boston   Manufacturers'  Mutual  Fire 
Insurance  Company. 

Grossman,   Herman,   Dtistrict   Manager,   Joint   Board   of   the 
Cloak  and  Suit  Makers'  U"nion  of  New  York. 

Haight,  A.  S.,  Insurance  Expert 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  601 

Hessler,  H.  E.,  Commissioner  of  Public  Safety,  Syracuse. 

Hoffman,    Frederick    L.,    Statistician,    President    American 
Statistical  Society. 

Johnson,  Joseph,  Fire  Commissioner,  New  York. 

Kelley,  Mrs.  Florence,  General  Secretary,  National  Consum- 
ers' League. 

Keyes,  Charles  H.,  Secretary  of  Committee  on  Safety,  New 
York. 

Knopf,  S.  Adolphus,  Dr.,  physician,  New  York. 

Leamy,  J.  J.,  Secretary  International  Boiler  Makers  and  Iron 
Ship  Builders,  Local  197. 

Lezinsky,  Eugene  L.,  General  Manager,  Cloak,  Suit  and  Skirt 
Manufacturers'  Protective  Association,  New  York. 

Loeb,  Morris,  Dr.,  New  York,  President  Hebrew  Technical 
Institute. 

Low,  Seth,  Hon. 
Marsh,  Benjamin  C. 

Maxwell,  William  H.,  City  Superintendent  of  Schools,  New 
York. 

Nathan,   Mrs.   Frederick,   President  New  York   Consumers' 
League. 

O'Connor,  D.  W.,  Chairman  Molders'  State  Legislative  Con- 
ference. 

Panken,   Jacob,    Attorney   Garment   Workers'   Union,   New 
York. 


602  QUESTIONNAIRE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION. 

Parsons,  H.  DeB.,  Consulting  Engineer. 

Quarles,  E.  A.,  Secretary  Model  Safety  Act  Committee1,  Na- 
tional Civic  Eederation. 

Quigley,  J.  P.,  Chief  of  Fire  Depart.,  Syracuse. 

Reagan,  J.  F.,  Superintendent  Department  Public  Safety, 
Utica. 

Rochester,  Delancey,  Dr.,  physician,  Buffalo. 
Sewall,  W.  G.,  New  York. 

Sherman,  P.  Tecumseh,  ex-Commissioner  New  York  State 
Department  of  Labor. 

Smith,  J.  "Waldo,  Chief  Engineer,  Board  of  "Water  Supply, 
New  York. 

Sullivan,  D.  J.,  Chief  Engineer,  Department  of  Public  Safety, 
Utica. 

Tomlin,  F.  S.,  Secretary,  Joint  Legislative  Labor  Conference 
of  Greater  New  York. 

"Wentworth,  Franklin  H.,  Secretary  and  Treasurer,  National 
Fire  Protection  Association. 

Wiley,  Harvey  W.,  Dr.,  Pure  Food  Commissioner. 

Woolston,  H.  B.,  Prof.,  Department  Political  Science,  College 
of  City  of  New  York. 

Yates,  Charles  (Secretary,  Central  Labor  and  Trades  Assembly 
of  Syracuse),  and  "Wood,  E.  V.,  Representative,  Machinists' 
Union. 

Yates,  H.  R.,  Chief  of  Fire  Department,  Schenectady. 


III.    DIGEST  OF  REPLIES 

JURISDICTION   OVER   FACTORIES    AND   MANUFAC- 
TURING ESTABLISHMENTS  IN  NEW  YORK  CITY. 

George  Gordon  Battle: 

I  believe  that  there  should  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city 
of  New  York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State,  and  that  there 
should  be  three  commissioners  at  the  head  of  each  of  these  De- 
partments. 

A  bureau  of  inspection  should  be  established,  such  as  is  suggested. 

A  new  department  should  be  established  in  New  York  city  to 
have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  factories  and  manufacturing 
establishments.  I  do  not  think  that  duplication  of  inspection  is 
necessarily  an  evil,  so  long  as  each  inspection  is  thorough.  There 
is  no  danger  of  these  inspections  being  so  frequent  as  to  become 
unduly  burdensome,  but  danger  might  arise  from  divided  respon- 
sibility attendant  upon  inspections  by  different  Departments.  The 
best  way  to  centralize  authority  and  responsibility  for  the  enforce- 
ment of  laws  relating  to  factories  is  to  make  substantial  violations 
criminal  offences  and  to  punish  them  by  imprisonment.  The  present 
tendency  of  our  Court  of  Special  Sessions  to  punish  infractions  of 
statutes  only  by  fines,  is  a  great  misfortune.  As  a  result  manufac- 
turers feel  that  they  are  safe  in  violating  the  law  and  the  most  they 
have  to  fear  is  a  fine,  which  they  regard  as  in  the  nature  of  a 
license  fee. 

Robert  W.  De  Forest: 

I  do  not  think  there  should  be  a  separate  Department  of  Labor 
for  the  city  of  New  York.  The  unit  of  administration  for  this  De- 
partment is  the  State.  One  policy  should  control  all  the  cities  of 
the  State.  For  purposes  of  administration,  New  York  city  pre- 
sents a  unit  so  large  as  to  require  a  resident  official  with  large 
discretionary  powers.  He  should  be  a  deputy  or  assistant,  or 
someone  appointed  to  control  by  the  State  Commissioner  of  Labor. 


QUESTION XAIIIE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

The  Tenement  House  Department  in  the  city  of  New  York  has 
at  the  present  time  all  the  jurisdiction  it  can  wisely  exercise  with 
the  force  and  means  now  ar  its  disposal.  To  enlarge  its  judisdictio.il 
without  enlarging  its  resources  and  personnel  would  only  make  it 
less  possible  than  at  present  to  enforce  our  tenement  law. 

The  Bureau  of  Inspection,  such  as  suggested  in  this  question, 
should  emphatically  not  be  established.  The  duty  of  inspection 
and  the  duty  of  enforcing  results  of  inspection  should  not  be 
separated  into  different  departments. 

8.  X.  Dix: 

There  should  be  one  State-wide  Department  and  one 
Commission. 

Neither  the  Board  of  Health  nor  the  Tenement  House  Depart- 
ment should  have  jurisdiction  over  the  bakeries,  except  as  delegated 
by  the  State  Commissioner  of  Labor 

A  Bureau  of  Inspection,  such  as  is  suggested,  might  be  estab- 
lished, but  it  should  use  the  city  bureaus  already  existing  for  the 
details.  A  new  Department  should  not  be  established  for  the  city 
of  New  York,  but  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  have  au- 
thority to  make  city  bureaus  responsible  and  accountable  to  the 
State  Department  of  Labor. 

To  centralize  authority  and  responsibility  for  the  enforcement  of 
laws  relating  to  factories,  the  State  Commissioner  should  be  made 
responsible,  using  the  city  bureaus  as  delegated  authority. 

Herman  Grossman: 

There  should  positively  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city 
of  New  York.  There  should  be  a  Commissioner  and  a  deputy  at 
the  head  of  this  Department. 

The  Board  of  Health  of  New  York  city  should  have  sole  juris- 
diction over  bakeries  in  tenement  houses.  The  Tenement  House 
Department  should  have  jurisdiction  over  all  other  manufacturing 
in  tenement  houses,  exclusive  of  bakeries. 

A  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  is  absolutely  unnecessary,  but 
one  Department  should  notify  another  in  case  its  inspectors  find 
violations  that  do  not  come  within  its  jurisdiction. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  605 

I  am  in  favor  of  establishing  a  new  Department  for  the  city  of 
New  York,  with  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  factories  and  man- 
ufacturing establishments. 

A.  S.  Haigkt: 

I  think  there  should  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city  of 
New  York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State. 

A  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  should  be  established. 

A  new  Department  should  be  established  for  the  city  of  New 
York,  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  factories,  unless  the 
present  Department  can  be  made  efficient  There  should  be  a  De- 
partment of  labor  established  for  the  city  of  New  York  and  one 
for  the  rest  of  the  State. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

I  believe  that  a  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  should  be 
established. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman: 

I  am  inclined  to  favor  the  suggestion  of  one  Department  of 
Labor  for  the  city  of  New  York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State, 
as  it  is  in  conformity  with  the  principle  adopted  of  the  creation 
of  two  Public  Service  Commissions  for  the  State  of  New  York. 

I  am  emphatically  in  favor  of  one  Commissioner  who  should 
have  sufficient  discretionary  powers  to  adapt  himself  successfully 
to  the  needs  of  a  rather  complex  situation. 

I  am  inclined  to  favor  the  suggestion  that  the  Tenement  House 
Department  for  the  city  of  New  York  have  sole  jurisdiction  over 
all  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  and  over  bakeries  and  con- 
fectionery establishments  in  tenement  houses,  since  it  will  elim- 
inate the  duplication  of  inspection  and  reports,  and  place  the  sole 
responsibility  where  it  seems  properly  to  belong. 

I  approve  of  the  suggestion  for  a  separate  Bureau  of  Industrial 
Inspection,  which  is  in  conformity  to  the  recommendation  of  the 
Massachusetts  Commission,  and  which  would  eliminate  the  evil 
of  a  multiform  system  of  inspection,  and  subserve  and  centralize 
the  executive  functions  concerned  with  the  enforcement  of  the 
provisions  of  the  law. 


606  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

The  Fire  Department  should  have  jurisdiction  as  to  fire  hazard 
in  bakeries  in  tenement  houses. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

I  do  not  believe  that  there  should  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for 
the  city  of  New  York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State.  There  is 
great  need  for  uniform  enforcement  of  the  law  throughout  the 
State.  The  division  of  administrative  Departments  would  make 
work  more  difficult.  There  should  be  one  Commissioner  for  the 
whole  State. 

The  Department  of  Health  of  New  York  city  should  not  have 
sole  jurisdiction  over  bakeries  any  more  than  it  has  sole  jurisdiction 
over  any  other  industry.  It  should  have  sole  jurisdiction  over 
sanitary  conditions  in  the  bakeries. 

The  Tenement  House  Department  should  not  have  sole  juris- 
diction over  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  and  bakeries  and 
confectionery  establishments  in  tenement  houses  for  the  following 
reasons:  Manufacture  should  not  be  carried  on  in  tenement  houses, 
nor  should  bakeries,  which  are  a  form  of  manufacturing,  nor  con- 
fectionery establishments,  except,  possibly  shops  exclusively  for 
the  sale  of  confectionery  wares.  The  creation  of  such  a  Bureau  of 
Inspection,  as  is  here  suggested,  would  be  a  mere  duplication  of 
administrative  bodies.  So  far  as  labor  is  concerned  it  should  be  in 
the  future,  as  it  has  been  in  the  past,  the  duty  of  the  State  in- 
specting body  to  enforce  the  law. 

A  new  department  should  not  be  established  for  the  city  of  New 
York,  as  it  is  not  desirable  to  duplicate  or  subdivide  administrative 
bodies  dealing  with  labor.  The  State  Department  of  Labor  should 
be  given  power,  funds,  personnel,  equipment  and  authoiity  to 
enforce  the  labor  law  throughout  the  State. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

I  believe  that  there  should  be  one  State  Department,  but  a 
special  sub-bureau  for  New  York  city.  There  should  be  one  head 
for  the  Department  of  Labor,  with  an  advisory  board  consisting 
unions:  others  of  the  State  Commissioner  <>f  Health. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  607 

The  Board  of  Health  in  the  city  of  Xew  York  should  have  sole 
jurisdiction  over  bakeries  in  tenement  houses,  including  the  super- 
vision of  confectionery  establishments  and  every  business  which 
produces  or  handles  food  products. 

The  creation  of  a  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  would  lead 
to  useless  multiplication  of  effort.  Supreme  power  over  this  work 
should  be  vested  in  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

Eugene  L.  Lezinsky: 

We  heartily  endorse  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city  of  New 
York  and  believe  in  a  single  head  for  such  a  Department. 

Hon.  Seth  Low: 

I  think  there  should  not  be  a  separate  Department  of  Labor  for 
the  city  of  Xew  York  and  another  for  the  rest  of  the  State.  It 
seems  to  me  much  better  that  the  Department  should  be  one,  while 
there  might  very  well  be  two  bureaus  in  the  same  Department. 
The  experience  in  Xew  York  city  ought  to  be  serviceable  to  the 
other  cities  of  the  State,  and  vice  versa.  This  sort  of  mutual 
benefit  will  be  lost  if  there  are  two  Departments. 

I  think  it  is  necessary  that  the  Departments  of  the  city  govern- 
ment should  have  authority  everywhere  in  the  line  of  their  func- 
tions. I  think  that  the  Board  of  Health  should  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  question  of  labor  in  bakeries  in  tenement  houses  or 
elsewhere.  In  tenement  houses,  in  view  of  the  existence  of  the 
Tenement  House  Department,  sanitary  conditions  in  bakeries  should 
be  under  the  care  of  the  Tenement  House  Department,  while  the 
event  of  the  outbreak  of  disease  in  bakeries  would  come  under  the 
care  of  the  Health  Department.  Outside  the  tenements,  the  Health 
Department  should  have  entire  sanitary  jurisdiction. 

I  do  not  believe  in  the  advantage  of  a  second  Bureau  of  Inspec- 
tion. I  think  it  would  be  a  source  of  weakness  and  disadvantage. 
I  do  not  believe  in  the  creation  of  a  new  Department  for  the  city 
of  Xew  York  to  have  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  all  factories  and 
manufacturing  establishments  other  than  those  carried  on  in  the 
tenement  houses. 


608  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  one  Department  of  Labor  in  the  State.  There 
should  be  a  Deputy  Commissioner  in  New  York  city.  There 
should  be  one  Commissioner  at  the  head  of  the  Department  of 
Labor. 

There  should  not  be  any  bakeries  in  tenement  houses,  but  the 
Board  of  Health  might  properly  have  sole  jurisdiction  over  bak- 
eries as  far  as  sanitary  conditions  are  concerned,  and  not  as  to  the 
hours  of  labor.  Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  not  be 
permitted.  Pending  prohibition  the  Board  of  Health  should  have 
jurisdiction  as  to  sanitary  conditions  in  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  tenements,  including  bakeries  and  confectionery  estab- 
lishments. 

A  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  is  a  useless  duplication. 

A  new  Department  for  the  city  of  New  York,  to  have  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  all  factories,  should  not  be  established  at  present. 

Jacob  Panken: 

New  York  city  should  have  a  Commission  to  have  jurisdiction 
over  workshops  of  every  description.  This  Commission  should  be 
separate  from  the  Factory  Inspection  Department  and  should  be 
composed  of  the  heads  of  the  Tenement,  Fire,  Board  of  Health 
and  Building  Departments,  plus  one  member  to  be  appointed  by 
the  government. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

A  Department  for  the  city  of  New  York  would  be  a  good  thing, 
but  it  should  be  under  the  authority  of  the  State  Commissioner  of 
Labor.  I  am  absolutely  opposed  to  more  than  one  person  in  au- 
thority at  the  head  of  any  Department. 

I  do  not  think  that  a  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  should  be 
established.  The  inspecting  and  enforcing  power  should  be  lodged 
in  the  same  bureau. 

A  new  Department  should  be  established  in  the  city  of  New 
York  with  the  exception  noted  above,  namely,  that  the  New  York 
city  Department  should  be  under  the  general  direction  of  the 
State  Commissioner  of  Labor. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  609 

Dr.  Delancey,  Rochester: 

There  should  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city  of  New 
York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State,  but  there  should  be  only 
one  Commissioner. 

A  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  should  be  established. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

There  should  not  be  a  Department  of  Labor  for  the  city  of  New 
York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State,  and  there  should  be  only 
one  Commissioner. 

The  Board  of  Health  should  not  have  sole  or  concurrent  juris- 
diction over  bakeries  in  tenement  houses  and  elsewhere.  The  Tene- 
ment House  Department  for  the  city  of  New  York  should  not 
have  sole  jurisdiction  over  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  and 
over  bakeries  and  confectionery  establishments  in  tenement 
houses. 

There  should  most  decidedly  not  be  a  separate  Bureau  of  In- 
spection established. 

A  new  Department  for  the  city  of  New  York  should  most 
decidedly  not  be  established.  There  is  no  harmful  duplication  of 
inspection  in  New  York  city.  What  is  desirable  is  to  fix  primary 
responsibility  as  between  the  different  Departments.  Jurisdiction 
over  the  original  construction  of  buildings  should  be  given  to  the 
Building  Department.  The  Fire  Department  in  New  York  city 
should  have  jurisdiction  to  make  and  enforce  regulations  of  fire 
and  escape  of  persons  in  case  of  fire.  The  Labor  Department  should 
have  jurisdiction  commensurate  with  its  laws,  except  that  the  Fire 
Department  should  have  primary  responsibility  for  its  laws. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

There  should  not  be  a  Department  of  Laibor  for  the  city  of  New 
York  and  one  for  the  rest  of  the  State.  There  should  be  one 
Department  of  Labor  and  one  Commissioner. 

The  Board  of  Health  should  not  have  sole  jurisdiction  over 

bakeries  in  tenement  houses.     The  Department  of  Labor  should 

take  charge  of  all  industries,  including  bakeries.   Manufacturing  in 

tenement  houses  should  be  absolutely  prohibited,  except  on  the 

20 


610  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

ground  floor.  Statutory  provisions  as  to  labor  should  be  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 

A  separate  Bureau  of  Inspection  should  not  be  established.  The 
Department  of  Labor  should  have  charge  over  all  factory  inspectors. 

A  new  Department  should  not  be  established  for  the  City  of 
New  York.  It  would  be  a  useless  duplication  of  officials  and  con- 
sequent expense  to  an  already  tax-burdened  people.  To  do  away 
with  duplication  of  inspections  in  the  city  of  New  York  and  to 
centralize  authority  and  responsibility  in  the  enforcement  of  the 
laws,  I  would  suggest  placing  all  inspection  in  charge  of  the 
Department  of  Labor. 

Charles  A.  Yates  and  Edward  W.  Wood: 

There  should  be  no  division  of  Departments,  but  as  many 
Commissioners  as  are  needed  to  get  good  results. 

STATE  LABOK  LAW. 
Frederick  L  Hoffman: 

Without  reflecting  upon  the  efficiency  of  the  State  Bureau  of 
Labor  and  Factory  Inspection,  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the 
present  system  of  inspection  is  inadequate.  I  am  not  prepared  to 
say  what  the  exact  number  of  inspectors  should  be,  or  what  propor- 
tion of  the  staff  should  consist  of  women  inspectors,  or  what  their 
respective  technical  qualifications  should  'be.  I  believe,  however, 
that  the  peculiarly  congested  condition  of  industry  in  the  city  of 
New  York  requires  a  larger  pro  rata  inspection  force  than  is  at 
present  the  case.  I  may  say  in  this  connection  that  under  date 
of  April  1,  1908,  an  increase  of  thirty-five  inspectors  was  author- 
ized for  the  Department  of  Factory  Inspection  of  Great  Britain, 
raising  the  total  number  of  inspectors  and  assistants  to  two  hun- 
dred. The  numiber  of  places  under  inspection  in  1908  was  260,000 
factories  and  workshops,  apart  from  warehouses,  docks,  and  other 
premises  not  technically  factories  or  workshops,  but  within  the 
scope  of  the  factories  acts  for  certain  purposes. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  at  least  four  inspections  should  be 
made  each  year,  but  at  irregular  intervals  and  without  the  pre- 
vious knowledge  of  the  owner  or  supervising  official  of  the 
establishment. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  611 

The  services  of  inspectors  with  technical  knowledge  may  be  pro- 
cured by  holding  out  the  inducement  of  oontimiity  of  service, 
reasonable  hours  of  labor  and  adequate  compensation.  I  am  em- 
phatically of  tlie  opinion  that  a  high  degree  of  technical  ability 
is  required  for  adequate  and  effective  factory  inspection,  at  least 
in  the  case  of  dangerous  mechanical  industries.  A  precedent  for 
this  point  of  view  is  found  in  the  universal  employment  of  highly 
trained  technical  factory  inspectors  and  assistants  in  the  German 
Empire,  in  connection  with  the  carrying  out  of  (the  rules  for  the 
prevention  of  accidents  in  German  industries.  Many  of  the  most 
valuable  suggestions  for  the  installation  of  safety  devices  have  been 
made  by  the  technical  supervising  officials  or  inspectors  and  assist- 
ants, and  so  well  established  has  become  tiheir  employment  tibait 
they  have  formed  themselves  into  a  national  association. 

By  raising  the  standard  of  the  inspection  service  to  that  of  a 
profession,  it  will  not  be  difficult  to  secure  the  right  kind  of  men 
and  women,  who  are  graduates  of  engineering  'and  other  technical 
schools.  It  is  a  hopeless  task  to  expect  really  valuable  results  from 
even  the  most  earnest  efforts  of  untrained  inspectors,  confronted 
by  the  often  extremely  technical  conditions  and  requirements  of 
modern  industry.  It  would  seem  equally  hopeless'  to  expect  that 
really  efficient  rules  and  regulations,  framed  for  the  protection  of 
wage  earners  in  dangerous  or  unhealthy  trades,  should  issue  from 
a  technically  unskilled  inspectorial  force. 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  believe  we  haven't  enough  inspectors  to  carry  out  the  work.  At 
the  present  time  an  inspector  has  a  chance  to  visit  a  place  only  once 
or  twice  a  year  and  this  is  not  sufficient.  Inspectors  should  be 
sent  to  places  in  seasonal  trades  when  they  are  busy,  and  not,  as 
often  happens,  in  slack  times.  Frequency  of  inspection  should  be 
left  to  the  judgment  of  the  Commissioner  with  due  regard  to  busy 
or  slack  times,  and  the  number  of  inspections  should  vary  with 
the  character  of  the  industry. 

Violations  should  be  sent  direct  from  the  office  in  order  that  im- 
mediate action  can  be  taken.  City  Departments  should  work 
hand  in  hand  with  the  State,  and  the  heads  of  the  different  De- 
partments should  have  meetings  in  order  to  devise  ways  and 
means  of  co-operation. 


612  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Joseph  Johnson-' 

Manufacturing  establishments  should  be  inspected  at  least  once 
a  month,  and  the  number  of  inspections  should  vary  with  the 
character  of  the  industry. 

In  order  to  obtain  the  services  of  inspectors  with  technical 
knowledge,  a  civil  service  examination  is  -necessary. 

Violation  orders  should  be  sent  direct  to  the  violators  and  dupli- 
cate copies  should  be  forwarded  to  Albany. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

Frequency  of  inspection  of  manufacturing  establishments  depends 
largely  upon  the  nature  of  the  occupation  and  the  sex  and  age 
of  the  employees.  Where  dangerous  occupations  are  carried  on 
inspections  should  obviously  be  frequent.  Where  women  and  chil- 
dren are  employed  in  large  numbers  inspections  should  be  corre- 
spondingly frequent. 

The  State  Department  of  Labor  should  have  inspectors  enough 
to  enforce  all  the  provisions  of  the  labor  law.  These  provisions 
could  probably  be  enforced  with  a  reasonable  degree  of  thorough- 
ness by  200  inspectors  for  the  city  and  300  for  the  rest  of  the 
State,  if  manufacturing  in  city  tenements  were  effectively  abolished. 
Until  that  is  abolished,  no  staff  of  inspectors,  however  large,  can 
hope  to  enforce  the  law  completely.  The  services  of  inspectors 
with  technical  knowledge  can  be  obtained  by  providing  for  them 
in  the  labor  law,  by  establishing  rigid  educational  qualifications 
for  candidates  for  these  offices,  arranging  for  graded  increases  of 
salary  and  retiring  pensions. 

Violation  orders  should  be  sent  direct  to  the  violator  from  the 
sub-offices  of  the  Department  of  Labor,  but  the  record  should  be 
kept  in  duplicate  at  the  sub-office  and  also  at  Albany  for  the 
|rarpose  of  assuring  prompt  publication  of  reports. 

The  State  Department  of  Labor  should  administer  exclusively 
those  provisions  which  deal  with  labor,  that  is,  provisions  relating 
to  hours,  children's  working  papers,  machine  guards,  etc.  Sanitary 
inspection  of  all  kinds  in  fill  buildings  is  properly  the  function  of 
the  local  health  authorities  and  should  be  made  mandatory. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  613 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

The  present  system  of  factory  inspection,  while  administered  with 
rare  intelligence  and  scrupulous  integrity,  is  yet  not  adequate. 
The  Department  is  not  provided  with  inspectors  enough  to  make 
the  frequent  inspections  necessary,  especially  of  dangerous  in- 
dustries. It  is  difficult  to  say  how  often  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments should  be  inspected.  The  character  of  the  business,  the 
stability  of  the  process,  the  nature  of  its  housing,  all  enter  as  de- 
termining elements.  Inspections  should  take  place  so  frequently 
to  make  sure  that  safe  conditions  are  maintained. 

It  would  be  a  mistake  to  reduce  the  number  of  inspections  in 
manufacturing  establishments.  What  is  referred  to  as  duplication 
of  inspection  by  city  Departments  and  the  State  Department  of 
Labor  is  not,  in  fact,  duplication.  Just  as  in  our  homes  we  have 
inspectors  to  take  the  water  meter,  to  determine  the  safety  of  the 
elevator,  to  pass  upon  the  safety  of  the  boiler,  to  read  the  gas 
meter,  sanitary  inspectors  to  examine  the  health  appointments,  police 
supervision  and  inspection,  each  for  its  own  valuable  end,  so  it  is 
necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  any  high  degree  of  safety,  to  in- 
crease rather  than  to  decrease  the  number  of  inspections. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

The  present  system  of  factory  inspection  might  be  considered 
good  if  more  men  and  more  competent  men  could  be  designated 
to  do  the  work.  Frequency  of  inspection  depends  upon  the  char- 
acter of  the  institution,  the  products  manufactured  and  the 
promptness  with  which  previously  existing  violations  have  been 
removed. 

The  head  of  the  Department  of  Labor  with  his  advisory  com- 
mittee is  the  only  one  who  can  answer  the  question  of  the  number 
of  inspectors  necessary.  The  number  of  supervising  inspectors 
should  be  determined  by  the  number  of  inspectors  and  the  size 
of  the  district. 

Inducements  to  follow  the  career  of  factory  inspector  should 
be  held  out  so  as  to  make  it  a  profession  worth  following.  I 
would  recommend  that  applicants  who  have  successfully  passed 
the  civil  service  examination  should,  for  a  period  of  three  months, 


614  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

be  assigned  as  assistants  to  inspectors  having  had  some  years  of 
service.  After  that,  the  candidate  should  pass  a  practical  examina- 
tion to  become  eligible  for  appointment.  A  recommendation  as  to 
good  character  of  the  applicant  by  three  reputable  citizens  should 
be  required.  All  candidates  should  submit  to  medical  examina- 
tion to  determine  their  physical  and  mental  soundness.  The 
position  of  factory  inspector  should  be  renumerative  and  secure 
enough  to  invite  capable,  responsible  men  to  offer  their  services. 
After  25  years  of  faithful  service  they  should  receive  one-half 
or  two-thirds  of  their  former  salaries  as  a  pension. 

Minor  violation  orders  may  be  given  to  the  sub-bureau  of  each 
city  in  order  to  expedite  the  compliance  with  regulations.  Minor 
offenses  when  not  complied  with  as  well  as  greater  offenses,  should 
be  referred  to  the  head  office. 

Eugene  L.  Lezinsky: 

We  believe  that  the  present  system  of  factory  inspection  is 
inadequate,  an  insufficient  force  of  inspectors  being  undoubtedly 
the  main  reason.  We  understand  that  the  factory  inspector  to-day 
inspects  but  from  six  to  eight  establishments  in  a  day.  Factories 
conducting  a  seasonal  business  should  be  inspected  at  the  busiest 
time  of  the  year.  The  fur  industry  has  one  busy  season  and  the 
cloak  and  suit  industry  has  two.  We  would  recommend  the  grad- 
ing of  shops  into  three  classes,  a  shop  in  grade  A,  for  example, 
to  require  but  one  yearly  inspection,  others  to  be  inspected  several 
times  each  year  in  order  to  keep  up  the  desired  standards. 

In  regard  to  violation  orders,  we  believe  the  factory  inspector 
should  file  a  copy  of  his  report  with  his  own  Department  and  other 
copies  with  the  Bureau  of  Fire  Prevention  and  also  the  Health 
Department,  in  order  to  insure  the  placing  of  the  responsibility 
where  it  belongs. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

I  regard  the  present  system  of  factory  inspection  as  inadequate. 
Manufacturing  establishments  should  be  inspected  at  least  twice 
a  year.  The  number  of  inspections  per  year  should  depend  upon 
the  character  of  the  industry.  There  should  be  at  least  300 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  615 

inspectors  for  New  York  State — 200  for  New  York  city  and 
100  for  the  rest  of  the  State.  There  should  be  ten  supervising 
inspectors.  The  services  of  inspectors  with  technical  knowledge 
can  be  secured  by  training  men  and  paying  them  ample  salaries. 
The  respective  spheres  and  functions  of  city  Departments  and 
of  the  State  Department  of  Labor  should  be  more  clearly  defined, 
and  so  far  as  possible  the  work  of  enforcing  factory  laws  left 
to  the  State  Department  of  Labor,  .as  that  of  enforcing  building 
ordinances  for  the  city  Department. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

I  regard  the  present  system  of  factory  inspection  as  adequate, 
but  there  is  not  a  large  enough  force  of  inspectors.  Manufac- 
turing establishments  should  be  inspected  four  times  a  year  at 
irregular  intervals,  dangerous  and  seasonal  trades  more  frequently. 

The  services  of  inspectors  with  technical  knowledge  can  be 
procured  through  civil  service  examinations  framed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  bringing  out  such  special  technical  knowledge. 

Jacob  Panken: 

Factory  inspection  in  New  York  city  is  not  adequate.  The 
force  of  inspectors  in  the  service  of  the  Department  in  New  York 
is  absolutely  insufficient  to  properly  inspect  the  factories,  shops 
and  stores.  Factories,  shops  and  stores  should  be  inspected  bi- 
monthly. In  places  where  great  numbers  of  people  are  employed 
the  inspections  should  be  more  frequent. 

In  order  to  procure  the  services  of  inspectors  with  technical 
knowledge,  I  believe  that  inspectors  should  be  qualified  in  two 
grades :  one,  inspectors  in  the  employ  of  the  State,  receiving  pay 
for  their  services ;  two,  a  voluntary  corps  of  inspectors. 

Violation  notices  should  be  sent  to  the  violator  direct  from  the 
sub-office  requiring  him  immediately  to  remove  the  violation.  Up- 
on failure  to  comply  within  the  time  specified  in  the  notice,  a 
notice  shall  be  posted  on  the  door  of  the  shop,  factory  or  store 
prohibiting  the  use  of  the  premises  as  a  workshop,  factory  or  store. 


616  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

The  present  system  of  factory  inspection  is  not  adequate,  but  I 
think  the  Department  is  doing  the  best  it  can  under  the  circum- 
stances. There  should  be  no  hard-and-fast  rule  as  to  the  number 
of  times  a  factory  should  be  inspected.  Generally  speaking,  how- 
ever, I  think  it  would  be  well  to  have  every  factory  inspected  at 
least  once  a  year.  The  number  of  inspections  should  depend  not 
only  upon  the  character  of  the  industry,  but  upon  the  history  and 
conditions  in  the  individual  plant. 

The  services  of  inspectors  with  technical  knowledge  can  be  se- 
cured by  paying  adequate  salaries  and  observing  rigid  civil  service 
requirements. 

I  believe  that  minor  vilolation  orders  should  be  sent  direct  to 
the  violator. 

Dr.  Delancy  Rochester: 

From  the  results,  I  should  judge  that  the  present  system  of 
factory  inspection  was  not  adequate.  Manufacturing  establish- 
ments should  be  inspected  at  least  four  times  a  year.  The  number 
of  yearly  inspections  should  depend  upon  the  character  of  the 
industry.  Inspectors  with  technical  knowledge  can  be  procured 
by  payment  of  a  sufficient  salary,  with  the  knowledge  that  they 
cannot  be  ousted  for  political  purposes.  The  sub-office  of  the 
Department  of  Labor  should  send  its  violation  orders  direct  to  the 
violator. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

I  believe  that  the  present  system  of  factory  inspection  will  be 
adequate  when  arrears  are  dealt  with,  etc.  Manufacturing  estab- 
lishments should  be  inspected  once  a  year  for  statistical  purposes. 
How  much  oftener  depends  upon  many  purposes  and  conditions. 
There  should  be  about  100  factory  inspectors  for  New  York 
State,  three-fifths  in  New  York  city  and  two-fifths  in  the  rest 
of  the  State.  Those  in  the  country  should  serve  some  winter 
months  in  the  city.  Inspectors  with  technical  knowledge  can  be 
procured  by  payment  of  adequate  salaries  and  through  civil  service 
examination.  The  method  of  sending  violation  orders  is  a  matter 
of  administration  which  should  not  be  fixed  by  law. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  617 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

The  present  system  of  factory  inspection  is  decidedly  not 
adequate.  Manufacturing  establishments  should  be  inspected  once 
in  six  months.  The  number  of  inspections  yearly  should  depend 
upon  the  character  of  those  who  carry  on  the  business.  There 
should  be  300  factory  inspectors  for  New  York  State,  175  for 
New  York  city  and  125  for  the  rest  of  the  State.  There  should 
be  15  supervising  inspectors.  Technical  inspectors  are  not  needed. 
They  are  like  expert  witnesses,  impractical,  misleading,  wasteful 
and  useless.  Violation  orders  should  be  sent  direct  from  the 
sub-office. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

The  present  system  of  factory  inspection  is  not  adequate. 
Manufacturing  establishments  should  be  inspected  at  least  once 
a  month  and  oftener  if  possible,  since  new  conditions  arise  every 
day.  The  number  of  inspections  should  not  depend  on  the  char- 
acter of  the  industry.  There  should  be  as  many  factory  inspectors 
in  New  York  State  as  are  necessary.  We  would  suggest  one  for 
each  Assembly  district.  There  should  be  at  least  one  supervising 
inspector  in  every  city  of  over  50,000  inhabitants.  Inspectors 
with  technical  knowledge  can  be  secured  by  appointing  tradesmen 
to  investigate  shops  of  their  craft.  Violation  orders  should  be  sent 
from  the  sub-office  direct. 

MUSEUM  OF  SAFETY. 

Robert  W.  DeForest: 

I  think  the  Labor  Department  could  wisely  publish  and  circu- 
late a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices.  The  cost  of  this 
is  small  compared  with  the  gain. 

8.  M.  Dix: 

I  believe  that  Labor  Department  should  publish  a  list  and  de- 
scription of  safety  devices  in  the  various  trades,  and  a  description 
of  them. 


618  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

There  should  be  a  Museum  of  Safety  established  with  traveling 
exhibits,  and  the  expense  thereof  ought  to  be  borne  by  the  State. 
The  State  Department  of  Labor  should  publish,  from  time  to  time, 
bulletins  describing  the  newer  devices,  and  the  old  and  current 
dangers. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman : 

The  Labor  Department  should  publish  and  circulate  from  time 
to  time  a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices  in  the  various  trades 
and  industries.  This  suggestion  follows  the  long-established  prece- 
dent in  the  practice  of  German  compulsory  accident  insurance 
institutions,  which,  in  the  annual  reports  of  the  technical  inspect- 
ors, publish  illustrations  of  the  latest  discoveries  in  the  ever- 
expanding  field  of  safety  devices.  It  would  serve  a  much  more 
useful  purpose  if  the  Labor  Department  were  to  give  the  widest 
publicity  to  facts  of  this  kind,  than  to  enlarge  upon  the  field  of 
elaborate  statistical  publications,  which,  without  the  advantage  of 
a  thoroughly  qualified  critical  analysis,  often  serve  no  practical 
purpose  whatever. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

There  should  be  a  Museum  of  Safety  as  a  branch  of  the  State 
Department  of  Labor,  not  as  a  private  institution  endowed  by  the 
State.  It  is  essential  to  the  efficiency  of  the  State  Department  of 
Labor.  It  might  be  made  of  great  value  to  employers  desiring 
to  improve  their  establishments.  It  is  of  the  utmost  importance 
that  the  State  should,  from  time  to  time,  publish  and  circulate 
lists,  descriptions,  drawings  and  pictures  of  safety  devices.  In 
no  other  way  can  the  work  of  the  inspectors  be  standardized,  and 
employers  assured  of  the  uniformity  of  expense,  and  employees 
assured  of  uniform  safety  in  relation  to  a  given  industry. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  certainly  be  established,  but  the 
already  existing  private  institution,  if  aided  by  the  State,  would 
answer  the  purpose.  The  State  Department  of  Labor  should 
by  all  means  publish  lists  and  descriptions  of  safety  devices.  I 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  619 

would  even  suggest  that  the  function  of  the  Museum  of  Safety 
be  enlarged  by  establishing  a  course  of  lectures  to  popularize  the 
ways  and  means  whereby  industrial  accidents  can  be  avoided. 

Dr.  Morris  Loeb: 

The  American  Museum  of  Natural  History  should  be  urged 
to  set  aside  a  particular  space  for  a  Museum  of  Safety.  Such  a 
Museum  could  only  be  effectively  maintained  by  private 
corporation. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  a  Museum  of  Safety  established,  and  the  safety 
of  people  in  offices,  as  well  as  in  factories,  should  be  considered. 
Hence,  the  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  under  the  charge  of  a 
separate  department,  not  the  Department  of  Labor.  The  Depart- 
ment of  Labor  should  publish  and  circulate  a  list  and  description 
of  safety  devices. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  established  as  a  branch  of  the 
State  Labor  Department.  I  believe  the  Department  of  Labor 
should  circulate  a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  established  as  a  private  institu- 
tion, endowed  by  the  State.  The  Department  of  Labor  should 
publish  a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  established  as  a  private  institu- 
tion, endowed  by  the  State,  unless  the  Federal  government  will 
establish  one.  The  Department  of  Labor  should  publish  such  a 
list  as  that  suggested,  and  also  a  description  of  safety  "  practices." 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  established  under  the  State 
Labor  Department.  If  the  State  Department  of  Labor  published 


620  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

and  circulated  a  list  and  description  of  safety  devices,  I  think  the 
undertaking  would  do  much  good. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

A  Museum  of  Safety  should  be  established  under  the  State 
Labor  Department.  The  Department  of  Labor  should  publish  a 
list  and  description  of  safety  devices. 

MEDICAL  INSPECTION. 
8.  M.  Dix: 

There  should  not  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the 
State  Department  of  Labor.  The  functions  of  such  a  depart- 
ment should  be  performed  by  local  Boards  of  Health,  responsible 
in  such  matters  to  the  State  Commissioner. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

I  doubt  very  much  if  there  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical 
Inspection  in  the  State  Department  of  Labor,  or  whether  there 
should  be  a  Board  of  Medical  Advisers.  But  that  there  should  be 
a  board  of  advisers,  some  of  whom  should  be  sanitarians  and 
hygienists,  I  think  there  can  be  no  doubt. 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  think  there  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the 
State  Labor  Department  and  also  a  Board  of  Medical  Advisers 
to  the  State  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

A.  8.  Haight: 

There  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  State 
Labor  Department. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

There  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  State 
Labor  Department. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  621 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

There  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  State 
Labor  Department.  The  work  of  Dr.  Rogers,  viewed  as  a  begin- 
ning, indicates  the  very  great  need  of  an  increase  in  this  direction. 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

It  is  manifestly  impossible  to  discharge  the  sanitary  responsi- 
bilities devolving  upon  the  State  Department  of  Labor  without  a 
Division  of  Medical  Inspection. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

If  medical  inspection  of  every  laborer  is  meant,  a  practice  in 
vogue  in  Germany,  it  would  seem  a  physical  impossibility  to  do 
it  with  the  present  equipment  of  any  of  the  existing  State  Depart- 
ments. The  work  belongs  by  right  to  a  State  Insurance  for  Acci- 
dents and  Diseases.  If  the  creation  of  a  division  having  to  deal 
with  purely  medical  questions  of  the  Department  is  meant,  I  think 
it  would  be  expedient.  I  certainly  would  deem  it  expedient  to 
have  a  Board  of  Medical  Advisers  to  the  State  Commissioner  of 
Labor  appointed  by  the  Governor. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

I  think  there  should  not  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in 
the  State  Labor  Department.  The  city  health  authorities  charged 
with  the  duty  of  conserving  the  health  of  the  city  should  make 
medical  inspections,  although  the  frequency  of  such  inspections 
and  the  general  nature  might  properly  be  determined  by  the  State 
Department  of  Labor. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

There  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  State 
Labor  Department,  and  it  should  be  authorized  and  equipped  to 
study  industrial  diseases  and  safety  devices  to  prevent  accidents. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

There  should  be  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the  State 
Labor  Department. 


622  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Dr.  Delamcey  Rochester: 

There  should  be  both  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the 
State  Labor  Department,  «nd  a  Board  of  Medical  Advisers  to  the 
State  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

There  need  not  be  a  separate  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in 
the  State  Department  of  Labor,  but  there  should  be  a  Board  of 
Medical  Advisers  to  the  Commissioner. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

There  should  be  both  a  Division  of  Medical  Inspection  in  the 
3tate  Labor  Department  and  a  Board  of  Medical  Advisers  to  the 
State  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

POWER  OF  COMMISSIONER  TO  MAKE  RULES  AND 
REGULATIONS. 

Robert  W.  Deforest: 

I  think  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation  in  different  industries.  I  think  the  best  results  would 
be  obtained  by  having  the  Commissioner  appoint  an  advisory  board 
of  technical  experts  to  formulate  these  rules  and  regulations,  whom 
he  could  call  on  from  time  to  time  for  advice. 

8.  M.  Dix: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper  sanitation 
in  different  industries. 

Dr.  George  W.  Ooler: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  relating  to  the  prevention  of  accidents  and  the 
sanitation  of  all  industries.  These  rules  should,  of  course,  be 
made  under  the  advice  of  a  board  of  experts. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  623 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  think  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  the  power 
to  make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and 
proper  sanitation  in  different  industries. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

Power  should  be  given  to  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper  sani- 
tation in  different  industries. 

Joseph  Johnson' 

I  believe  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  the  power 
to  make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and 
proper  sanitation. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

Power  should  be  conferred  upon  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  prevention  of  accidents.  Sanita- 
tion, however,  is  the  function  of  the  State  and  local  health  officials 
and  should  be  left  to  them.  It  is  not  desirable  at  the  present  time 
that  a  board  of  technical  experts  should  be  appointed  by  the 
Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner. 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  certainly  be  given  power  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation  in  different  industries. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

In  conjunction  with  an  advisory  board,  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor  should  be  given  the  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations 
to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper  sanitation  in  different 
industries. 

As  a  part  of  the  advisory  board,  there  should  be  a  board  of  tech- 
nical experts  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner 
in  the  formulation  of  rules  and  regulations  and  their  revision  from 
time  to  time. 


624  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Eugene  L.  Lezinsky: 

We  are  in  favor  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  being  given  the 
power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention" 
and  proper  sanitation.  Although  we  recognize  the  great  difficul- 
ties involved,  we  believe  such  power  of  the  Commissioner  to  be  in 
line  with  modern  standards. 


Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

I  believe  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  *i'j 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation,  with  the  proviso  that  the  minimum  requirements  should 
be  determined  by  State  legislation.  There  should  be  a  board 
of  technical  experts  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  advise  the 
Commissioner. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

I  believe,  emphatically,  that  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should 
be  given  the  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover 
accident  prevention  and  proper  sanitation  in  different  industries. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  have  i  paid  board  of  technical  experts  to  advise 
the  Commissioner.  Expert  advice  can  always  be  had. 

Jacob  Panken: 

The  Commissioner  should  have  the  power  to  make  rules  and 
regulations,  but  such  rules  and  regulations  shall  be  submitted  to 
the  Court  of  Appeals  of  the  State  to  be  passed  upon  immediately 
after  the  rules  and  regulations  are  made,  so  that  the  legality  and 
constitutionality  of  same  may  be  determined  forthwith. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  empowered  to  make  rules 
and  regulations  by  and  with  the  consent  and  advice  of  a  board  of 
technical  experts  appointed  by  the  Governor.  The  Commissioner 
only,  however,  should  be  clothed  with  authority  to  initiate  rules 
and  regulations. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  625 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

I  think  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  the  power  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation,  and  there  should  be  a  board  of  technical  experts  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner  in  the  forma- 
tion of  rules  and  regulations  and  their  revision. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  not  be  given  the  power  to 
make  rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation  in  different  industries.  There  should  be  a  board  of  tech- 
nical experts  appointed  by  the  Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner 
in  the  formulation  of  rules  and  regulations,  those  rules  to  be 
amended  solely  upon  motion  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

I  am  of  the  opinion  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given 
power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  covering  accident  prevention 
and  proper  sanitation.  I  do  not  think  there  should  be  a  board  of 
technical  experts  appointed  to  advise  the  Commissioner  in  the 
formulation  of  these  rules  and  regulations  and  their  revision.  The 
Commissioner  should  have  authority  to  consult  with  experts  if  he 
chooses,  and  they  should  be  paid  by  the  State. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  the  power  to  make 
rules  and  regulations  to  cover  accident  prevention  and  proper 
sanitation.  There  should  be  a  board  of  technical  experts  ap- 
pointed by  the  Governor  to  advise  the  Commissioner  in  the  formu- 
lation of  these  rules  and  regulations  and  their  revision  from  time 
to  time. 

PENALTIES  FOR  VIOLATION  OF  LAW. 
Robert  W.  DeForest: 

I  think  if  one  or  more  courts  were  set  aside  for  the  enforcement 
of  the  Labor  Law,  the  Tenement  Law  and  the  like,  so  that  the 


626  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

trial  judge  would  be  thoroughly  familiar  with  this  specialty. of 
law,  enforcement  would  be  far  more  effective. 

Herman  Grossman: 

Absolute  power  should  be  given  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  in 
order  to  enforce  the  law.  I  would  recommend  a  heavy  fine,  im- 
prisonment, or  both,  as  measures  to  bring  about  a  more  speedy 
and  effective  punishment  for  violations  of  the  provisions  of  the 
Labor  Law. 

A.  8.  Haight: 

If  an  employer  neglects  his  employees,  shut  his  factory  until 
he  does  as  required. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

Power  should  be  given  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to  close  a 
factory.  Make  violation  a  misdemeanor  and  get  prison  sentences 
as  well  as  penalties. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

Power  should  be  given  to  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  for  sum- 
mary enforcement  of  the  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law  by  closing 
the  establishment  whenever,  in  his  opinion,  persistent  violation  of 
the  law  threatens  life  or  limb  of  employees. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  for  the  pub- 
lication or  placarding  of  violations  until  they  are  removed. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Any  person  attempting  to  prevent  the  speedy  and  effective  pun- 
ishment for  violations  of  provisions  of  the  Labor  Law  should  be 
guilty  of  a  misdemeanor.  The  prosecuting  officers  should  have  a 
little  more  nerve,  while  magistrates  and  judges  who  fail  to  enforce 
the  law  should  be  made  liable  thereby  to  removal. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  627 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  to  force 
eviction  from  premises  until  the  law  can  be  complied  with. 

Jacob  PanJcen: 

If  punishment  is  to  be  meted  out,  it  should  be  severe  if  it  is  to 
have  any  effect  at  nil.  I  believe  that  it  is  possible  to  grade  the 
violations  in  such  a  manner  that  some  shall  be  made  felonious, 
while  others  are  ordinary  misdemeanors. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Summary  power  to  enforce  the  Labor  Law  should  be  given  to  the 
Commissioner. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  given  power  to  enjoin 
for  violation  of  regulations.  In  order  to  bring  about  a  more 
speedy  and  effective  punishment  for  violation  of  the  provisions  of 
the  Labor  Law,  I  would  recommend  that  magistrates  be  deprived 
of  the  power  to  suspend  judgment  for  fines  and  to  dismiss  for 
compliance  with  the  law  after  prosecution  has  been  begun. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  should  be  made  the  prosecuting 
authority  rather  than  shift  responsibility  to  an  officer,  board  or 
commission  having  charge  of  the  work.  In  order  to  bring  about 
more  speedy  and  effective  punishment  for  violations  of  the  Labor 
Law,  more  competent  and  intelligent  inspection  should  be  had, 
employers  not  to  be  notified  when  inspection  is  to  be  made. 

REGISTRATION  AND  LICENSING  OF  FACTORIES. 

Robert  W.  DeForest: 

There  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  of  all  fac- 
tories and  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  State. 


628  QUESTIONNAIKE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman: 

I  am  strongly  in  favor  of  a  compulsory  system  of  registration 
of  all  factories.  This  goes  to  the  root  of  the  whole  problem  of 
effective  and'  complete  factory  supervision,  and  industrial  inspec- 
tion, exclusive  of  the  supervision  and  control  of  manufacturing 
in  tenement  houses  and  the  bakeries  and  confectionery  establish- 
ments carried  on  therein. 

The  suggestion  that  plans  be  filed  showing  the  location  of 
machinery,  partitions,  etc.,  and1  such  plans  be  approved  before  any 
new  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  is  operated,  is  an 
excellent  one.  This  is  in  entire  conformity  to  the  principle  long 
since  adopted  by  several  Continental  European  States,  and  to 
which  is  largely  due  thie  fact  that  modern  factory  construction  on 
the  Continent  is,  generally  speaking,  of  a  very  high  order.  The 
same  principle  which  applies  to  tenement  'and  other  building  con- 
struction applies  with  even  greater  force  to  factory  construction, 
and  it  is  not  going  too  far  to  say  that  many  old-ime  evils  have 
been  reproduced  in  modern  plants  by  a  simple  disregard  of  well- 
known  elements  of  safety  and  sanitation.  I  cannot  make  my 
recommend'aition  too  emphatic  that  the  principle  of  previous  official 
approval  of  plans  for  factory  construction  should  be  embodied  in 
any  new  factory  legislation,  ensacted  by  the  State  of  New  York. 

I  favor  the  requirement  of  a  license  for  all  factories1  and  manu- 
facturing establishments,  and  would  suggest  that  such  a  license 
should  be  made  revokable  in  the  event  of  non-compliance  with  the 
factory  and  sanitary  laws.  I  would  not  favor  any  exceptions  what- 
soever, except,  of  course,  that  <tihe  law  should  specifically  define  a 
factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  within  the  scope  of  the 
labor  laws. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

There  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  with  the 
Labor  Department  of  all  factories  and  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  the  State.  Plans  should  be  filed  showing  the  location  of 
machinery,  partitions,  etc. ;  and  such  plans  should  be  approved 
before  any  new  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  is  oper- 
ated. The  location  of  the  factory  with  regard  to  light,  ventilation 
and  congestion  of  population  should  all  be  taken  into  considera- 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  629 

tion  before  the  granting  of  the  licenses.  A  license  should  be  re- 
quired for  all  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments  here- 
after established. 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

We  shall  never  have  safe  and  sanitary  conditions  in  factories 
and  manufacturing  establishments  until  all  these  places  are  re- 
quired to  register,  and  such  registration  should  be  valid  only  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  particular  business  seeking  the  license. 
Change  of  eitker  business  or  location  should  call  for  new  registra- 
tion or  at  least  for  transfer  of  the  registration.  The  location  of 
partitions,  and  certainly  the  location  of  heavy  or  dangerous  ma- 
chinery, constitutes  essential  parts  of  the  hazard,  and  plans  show- 
ing their  location  should  certainly  be  in  hand  before  the  registra- 
tion and  license  of  the  factory  should  take  place.  We  should  insist 
upon  the  licensing  of  all  factories  and  manufacturing 
establishments. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

I  believe  there  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration 
of  all  factories  in  the  State,  and  that  plans  should  be  filed  showing 
the  location  of  machinery,  etc.,  such  plans  to  be  approved  before 
any  new  factory  is  operated.  It  would  seem  that  registration 
would  suffice  for  all  practical  purposes  except  in  cases  where  the 
manufacturing  method  might  constitute  a  nuisance  or  might  be 
designated  as  a  dangerous  trade. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  of  all  fac- 
tories, a"nd  the  names  of  the  actual  owners  of  factories  and  of  the 
owners  of  buildings  in  which  such  factories  are  located,  with  their 
addresses,  should  be  registered.  Plans  should  be  filed  showing 
the  location  of  machinery,  partitions,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved 
before  any  new  manufacturing  establishment  is  operated,  while  in 
addition  plans  of  existing  factories  should  be  made  to  show  the 
need  for  changes  in  arrangement.  A  license  should  be  required 
in  all  cases  for  factories. 


630  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

I  believe  there  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration 
of  all  factories.  Plans  should  be  filed  showing  the  location 'of 
machinery,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved  before  any  new  factory 
is  operated,  and  when  change  of  occupancy  occurs,  a  new  license 
should  be  required.  A  license  should  be  required.  Some  occupa- 
tions are  more  dangerous  than  others,  some  require  more  em- 
ployees than  others. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

Without  a  doubt  there  rhould  be  a  compulsory  system  of  regis- 
tration of  all  factories,  and  plans  should  be  filed  showing  the  loca- 
tion of  machinery,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved  before  any  new 
factory  is  operated. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  there  should  be  a  compulsory  system 
of  registration  of  all  factories.  Plans  showing  the  location  of 
machinery,  etc.,  should  be  filed,  and  such  plans  approved  before 
any  new  factory  is  operated. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

I  think  there  should  be  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  of 
all  factories,  but  it  will  take  a  long  tune  and  a  good  deal  of  hard 
work  to  get  it  into  effect.  Plans  need  not  be  filed  showing  the 
location  of  machinery,  partitions,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved 
before  any  new  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  is  operated. 
A  license  should  not  be  required  for  all  factories,  but  such  license 
should  be  required  for  factories  in  tenant  factory  buildings  and 
more  particularly  for  those  above  the  third  floor. 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

Without  a  doubt,  in  all  cases,  there  should  be  a  compulsory  system 
of  registration  of  all  factories  in  the  State.  Plans  should  be  filed 
showing  the  location  of  machinery,  etc.,  and  such  plans  approved 
before  any  new  manufactuiing  establishment  is  operated.  A  license 
should  be  required. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  631 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

I  believe  there  should  he  a  compulsory  system  of  registration  of 
all  factories.  Plans  should  be  filed  showing  the  location  of  ma- 
chinery, and  such  plans  approved  before  any  new  factory  is  oper- 
ated. A  license  should  be  required. 

WATER   CLOSETS. 
/.  B.  Callacy: 

There  should  be  two  toilets  for  every  25  persons  employed. 

8.  M.  Dix: 

There  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the  number  of 
toilets  to  be  installed. 

Dr.  George  IF.  Goler: 

One  toilet  should  be  required  for  each  20  or  25  persons. 

Herman  Grossman: 

There  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the  number 
of  toilets  to  be  installed.  For  25  persons  three  will  be  sufficient. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

There  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the  number 
of  toilets  to  be  installed. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

I  think  there  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the 
number  of  toilets  to  be  installed. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

There  should  be  at  least  two  toilets  required  for  each  25  per- 
sons employed. 


632  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

It  is  not  enough  to  prescribe  the  number  of  toilets.  Distribu- 
tion for  accessibility  and  decency  is  also  highly  important. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

There  should  be  one  toilet  required  for  about  20  to  25  persons, 
but  separate  toilets  for  each  sex. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the  number 
of  toilets  to  be  installed,  and  one  should  be  provided  for  every  ten 
people. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Two  toilets  for  each  25  persons  employed  should  be  sufficient. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

The  question  of  how  many  toilets  should  be  required  for  each  25 
persons  employed  should  be  left  to  the  board  of  medical  advisers. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

One  toilet  should  be  required  for  25  persons. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

We  think  there  should  be  a  provision  in  the  law  specifying  the 
number  of  toilets  to  be  installed. 

REMOVAL  OF  DUST,  GASES  AND  FUMES. 
8.  M.  Dix: 

Such  methods  as  have  been  developed  by  the  best  modern  prac- 
tice should  be  adopted  for  the  removal  of  gases  and  fumes. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

All  sweeping  and  dusting  in  factories  should  be  done  by  pneu- 
matic sweepers. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  633 

Herman  Grossman: 

If  garments  are  manufactured  they  should  be  covered,  and 
these  covers  should  be  washed  occasionally,  and  in  other  factories, 
where  iron  or  boards  are  used,  it  should  be  up  to  the  management 
to  see  that  the  place  is  cleaned  so  that  dust  cannot  accumulate. 

Joseph  Johnson : 

In  order  to  remove  gases  and  fumes,  blowers  with  exhausts  to 
open  air  or  combustion  chamber  should  be  adopted. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

The  well-known  specific  mechanical  devices  in  use  in  all  mod- 
ernly-equipped  factories  should  be  used  for  the  removal  of  gases 
and  fumes. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

Hoods  to  carry  away  fumes  and  dust  should  be  used. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

The  manufacturer  or  owner  of  the  plant  should  be  compelled  to 
furnish  proper  respirators  for  his  employees  and  see  that  these 
respirators  are  used. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

What  measures  should  be  adopted  for  the  removal  of  gases  and 
fumes  should  be  left  to  the  board  of  medical  advisers. 


VENTILATION. 
8.  M.  Dix: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  What  the  standard 
of  ventilation  should  be,  how  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  should 
be  allowed  in  the  daytime,  or  when  gas  or  electric  light  is  used 
for  lighting,  how  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person  in  the 


634  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

night-time,  and  when  mechanical  ventilation  should  be  made  man- 
datory, are  matters  which  depend  on  conditions  as  developed  by 
experience.  The  number  of  persons  employed  should  be  varied 
by  conditions  of  service  and  business.  Standards  should  all  be 
based  on  practical  experience  tables  under  varying  conditions  of 
the  several  industries. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation  and  also  a  standard 
of  moisture ;  and,  as  a  measure  of  economy  to  the  factory  as  well 
as  a  provision  for  the  health  of  the  workers,  there  should  be  at 
least  600  cubic  feet  of  air  space  to  each  person,  and  when  gas  is 
used  for  lighting  purposes  this  should  be  doubled.  A  similar 
doubling  of  air  space  should  be  provided  for  persons  who  work 
in  the  night.  All  factories  should  be  required  to  have  mechanical 
systems  of  ventilation,  whereby  at  least  3,000  feet  of  fresh, 
screened,  moistened  air  per  hour  should  be  provided  for  each 
worker.  Of  course,  there  should  not  only  be  a  standard  of  tem- 
perature at  68  degrees  five  feet  from  the  floor,  but  there  should 
also  be  a  standard  of  moisture  which  should  not  be  less  than  30 
per  cent  in  zero  weather. 

Herman  Grossman: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  Ventilation.  This  should  be  by 
open  windows  and  electric  fans.  According  to  my  judgment  when 
gas  and  electric  lights  are  used,  naturally  the  atmosphere  is 
stronger  than  in  :the  day,  and  it  would  require  stronger  ventilation 
to  be  used  than,  in  the  daytime.  Therefore,  electric  fans  should 
be  used  besides  the  open  windows.  Mechanical  ventilation  should 
be  made  mandatory  when  the  air  becomes  unbearable.  The  num- 
ber of  persons  employed  should  be  limited  in  proportion  to  the 
floor  area.  The  standard  should  be  the  same  as  the  law  provides, 
but  the  manufacturers  have  not  lived  up  to  it.  The  law  depart- 
ment should  see  that  it  is  enforced  absolutely.  This  should  be 
referred  to  the  Board  of  Medical  Experts1. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  635 

A..  S.  Ilaiglit: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  Mechanical  venti- 
lation should  be  made  mandatory  when  needed.  The  number  of 
persons  employed  should  be  limited  in  proportion  to  the  floor  area. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

The  number  of  persons  employed  should  be  in  proportion  to  the 
floor  area. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  The  standard  should 
be  such  as  would  assure  wholesome  air.  Mechanical  ventilation 
should  be  made  mandatory  when  natural  conditions  are  insuffi- 
cient. The  number  of  persons  employed  should  be  limited  in 
proportion  to  the  floor  area,  to  be  determined  by  the  class  of  work. 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

The  whole  matter  of  ventilation  is  of  the  utmost  importance  and 
can  readily  be  standardized.  There  is  a  reasonably  generous 
agreement  among  sanitary  engineers  as  to  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  air  needed  to  maintain  human  efficiency, —  the  actual 
delivery  of  20  cubic  feet  of  pure  air  per  minute  per  person,  this 
air  not  to  be  baked  or  deprived  of  the  necessary  moisture  nor 
overheated.  This  delivery  of  fresh  air  is,  of  course,  only  possible 
where  means  are  provided  for  carrying  off  the  vitiated 
air.  Where  the  pure  air  i<  vitiated  by  other  than  human  agencies 
there  should  be  added  a  sufficient  volume  of  fresh  air  to  provide 
for  such  vitiation.  Mechanical  ventilation  should  be  made  man- 
datory wherever  it  is  probable  that  otherwise  it  is  impossible  to 
insure  the  elimination  of  vitiated  air  and  the  delivery  of  the 
standard  minimum  of  fresh  air  per  person  for  every  minute  of 
time. 

Because  in  many  establishments  the  windows  must  be  depended 
upon  for  ventilation  it  is  important  to  limit  the  number  of  per- 
sons employed  on  any  given  floor  area, —  this  for  two  purposes ; 
first,  it  will  determine  the  available  number  of  cubic  feet  of  air 
per  person,  and  second,  it  will  limit  the  load  that  can  safely  b« 


636  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

imposed  upon  the  floor  structure.  It  is  most  important  to  note 
that  the  inmates  of  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments 
suffer  from  overheating  a  hundred  times  where  evil  consequences 
result  from  underheating  once.  The  standard  will  vary  with  the 
character  of  the  work  to  be  done. 

Dr.  M.  Loeb: 

The  law  with  regard  to  ventilation  should  be  entirely  redrawn 
under  conditions  which  would  determine  the  maximum  of  toler- 
ation with  regard  to  percentage  of  carbon  dioxide,  sulphur  dioxide 
and  other  noxious  gases,  as  well  as  the  suspended  solids.  In  view 
of  the  peculiarities  of  ventilation,  whether  artificial  or  natural,  a 
cubic  air  allowance  has  no  value  whatsoever;  an  alcove  outside 
of  the  regular  currents  of  ventilation  might  complete  the  prescribed 
number  of  cubic  feet  without  being  good  for  anything.  On  the 
other  hand,  the  floor  area  seems  to  me  of  maximum  importance, 
and  a  formula  should  be  adopted  in  which  the  free  area  —  that 
is,  the  space  available  for  circulation  —  of  rooms  containing  fixed 
machinery  should  be  greater  than  of  those  in  which  only  movable 
furniture  is  contained. 

* 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  A  complete  renewal 
should  be  provided  for  at  least  six  times  an  hour.  500  cubic 
xeet  is  the  minimum  which  should  be  required  where  either  ga? 
or  electric  lights  are  used,  preferably  600  where  gas  is  used.  There 
should  be  placards  in  every  room  stating  in  such  language  or 
languages  as  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  deems  necessary,  the 
number  of  occupants  permitted  in  the  room.  600  cubic  feet  of  air 
space  per  person  should  be  the  minimum  in  the  night-time. 
Mechanical  ventilation  should  be  made  mandatory  within  a  year 
at  longest  if  the  question  of  time  is  involved ;  and  should  be 
required  where  natural  ventilation  cannot  be  made  satisfactory. 
The  number  of  person  employed  should  be  limited  so  as  to  pro- 
vide adequate  aisles,  and  accessibility  to  fire-escapes.  The  stand- 
ard is  a  question  for  medical  experts  to  determine. 


QUESTIONNAIBE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION.  637 

The  number  of  persons  employed  should  be  limited  in  propor- 
tion to  the  floor  area. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Whether  there  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation,  what  that 
standard  should  be,  how  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person 
should  be  allowed  in  the  daytime,  when  gas  or  electric  light  is 
used,  and  in  the  night-time^  are  questions  best  answered  by  sanitary 
experts.  Most  of  our  houses,  places  of  business  and  factories  are 
overheated  and  too  dry.  There  should  be  a  properly  constructed 
humidifier  and  the  temperature  should  be  kept  between  60  and  65 
degrees  F.  during  the  winter,  and  if  possible  to  accomplish,  it 
should  not  be  allowed  to  rise  above  80  degrees  F.  in  the  summer. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  What  this  standard 
should  be,  how  many  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per  person  in  the 
daytime,  should  be  allowed,  how  many  when  gas  is  used  for  light- 
ing purposes,  how  many  when  electric  lights  are  used,  and  how 
many  in  the  night-time,  and  when  mechanical  ventilation  should 
be  made  mandatory,  are  questions  to  be  left  to  the  board  of 
medical  advisers. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

There  should  be  a  standard  of  ventilation.  A  free  circulation 
of  air  should  be  maintained  when  there  are  windows  on  opposite 
sides  of  a  room.  I  am  of  opinion  this  can  be  accomplished  without 
mechanical  means.  Four  hundred  cubic  feet  of  air  space  per 
person  should  be  allowed  in  the  daytime;  500  cubic  feet  in  the 
night-time.  Mechanical  ventilation  should  be  made  mandatory 
whenever  a  free  circulation  of  air  cannot  be  maintained  without  it. 

There  should  be  25  square  feet  of  floor  space  for  each  person 
exclusive  of  machinery.  The  stardard  of  temperature  should  be 
60  to  65  degrees  Fahrenheit. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

There  should  be  a  recognized  stardard  of  ventilation.  Tho  num- 
ber of  persons  employed  should  be  limited  in  proportion  to  the 


(538  QUESTIONNAIBE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION. 

floor  area.     This  question  can  be  best  answered  by  a  physician 
or  health  officer. 


EATING  MEALS  IN  WORKROOMS. 
Herman  Grossman: 

The  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should  be  prohibited  gener- 
ally. Clothing  industries,  shoe  factories,  hair  shops,  fur  factories 
and  all  wearing  apparel, —  these  factories  in  particular  should 
have  a  separate  dining  room. 

A.  &'  Haight: 

The  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should  not  necessarily  be 
prohibited  generally. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

Wherever  practicable,  the  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should 
be  prohibited. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

Eating  meals  in  workshops  should  be  prohibited  generally.  It 
should  be  obligatory  upon  the  employer  to  provide  a  clean,  whole- 
some and  suitable  place  for  meals. 

Charles  H.  Keyes: 

It  is  imperative  that  eating  meals  in  workshops  should  be  pro- 
hibited in  industries  dealing  with  unsanitary  or  poisonoas  mate- 
rials or  processes.  Where  large  numbers  of  employees  are  found, 
particularly  where  women  constitute  the  large  body  of  the  opera- 
tives, employers  would  probably  make  money  through  the  increase 
of  efficiency  among  operatives  if  wholesome,  sanitary  luncheon 
rooms  were  provided. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

Etting  in  workshops  can  never  be  considered  sanitary  ir  any 
industry.  Washrooms  fhould  be  provided  to  enable  the  workers 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  639 

to  clean  hands  and  faces  before  touching  food.    Individual  drink- 
ing cups  or  sanitary  drinking  fountains  should  be  made  obligatory. 

Dr.  M.  Loeb: 

The  prohibition  of  the  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  is  desirable 
in  all  the  chemical  industries,  and  in  painters',  plumbers'  and 
other  shops  involving  the  use  of  poisonous  metals,  but  it  would 
seem  to  me  that  this  could  only  be  enforced  satisfactorily  if  sepa- 
rate eating  rooms  must  be  provided  wherever  the  number  of 
employees  in  such  industry  exceeds  a  given  amount ;  such  rooms 
should  have  the  prescribed  amount  of  washing  facilities. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Eating  meals  in  workshops  should  not  be  prohibited  generally 
unless  proprietors  are  going  to  furnish  lunch  money  above  the 
regular  wages  or  the  state  wants  to  enrich  the  saloon  keepers.  In 
what  specific  industries  it  should  be  prohibited  is  a  technical 
question  to  be  determined  by  physicians.  If  a  general  prohibition 
is  impossible,  manufacturers  can  probably  be  induced  or  possibly 
might  be  required  to  provide  eating  rooms. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

The  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should  be  prohibited  gener- 
ally, especially  where  work  produces  dust  or  fumes  from  gases. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

The  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should  be  allowed  under  no 
circumstances. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

Eating  meals  in  workshops  should  not  be  prohibited  generally. 
The  question  of  the  specific  industries  in  which  it  should  be  pro- 
hibited should  be  referred  to  the  board  of  medical  advisers. 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

In  general,  meals  are  better  eaten  in  a  room  other  than  where 
work  of  any  kind  is  carried  on.  It  should  be  prohibited  in  all 


640  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

paint  and  other  manufactories  where  lead,  arsenic,  mercury,  phos- 
phorus or  any  other  kind  of  poison  is  used,  and  in  metal  polishing 
and  other  industries  which  create  dust  of  any  kind. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

The  eating  of  meals  in  workshops  should  be  prohibited  in  all 
cases,  unless  a  special  room  is  provided  for  that  purpose. 

LIGHTING  FACILITIES. 
Herman  Grossman: 

I  would  not  permit  people  to  work  in  dark  places,  but  if  it  is 
inevitable,  electric  lights  should  be  used  with  shades  so  as  not  to 
hurt  the  eyes. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

The  standard  of  intensity  and  brilliancy  of  light  varies  with 
the  work. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

While  the  questions  as  to  what  measures  should  be  taken  to  im- 
prove artificial  lighting  facilities  in  factories,  and  what  the  stand- 
ard of  intensity  and  brilliancy  of  light  should  be,  could,  perhaps, 
best  be  answered  by  an  expert,  my  personal  opinion  is  that  day- 
light and  electric  lights  are  superior  to  all  other  methods  of 
illumination. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

The  question  of  lighting  is  a  technical  one  on  which  I  can  only 
suggest  that  no  factory  should  hereafter  be  constructed  so  that 
any  part  of  a  workshop  is  over  28  or  30  feet  from  a  window  in 
a  wall  at  a  distance,  at  least,  from  the  opposite  wall,  of  one-fourth 
of  the  height  from  the  ground  to  the  floor. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

The  question  of  artificial  lighting  facilities  and  as  to  the  stand- 
ard of  intensity  and  brilliancy  of  light  should  be  left  to  the  board 
of  technical  experts. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  641 

/•'.  iS.  Tomlin: 

I  am  of  opinion  that  employers  would  find  it  profitable  to  have 
their  workrooms  well  lighted.  The  light  should  be  diffused  so 
that  all  parts  of  the  room  would  be  lighted  so  that  a  person  of 
normal  vision  sould  read  ordinary  newspaper  print  without  strain- 
ing, two  feet  from  the  eyes. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

As  to  what  measures  should  be  taken  to  improve  artificial  light- 
ing facilities  in  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments,  ex- 
pert advice  should  be  secured.  There  should  be  a  standard  of 
intensity  and  brilliancy  of  light. 

ACCIDENT  PREVENTION. 

Herman  Grossman: 

There  should  surely  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to 
maintain  lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings.  This  will  pre- 
vent accidents.  To  prevent  elevator  accidents,  I  would  recommend 
that  the  entrance  should  be  barred  with  gates,  and  rules  should 
be  made  for  the  elevate  .•  men  not  to  open  the  gate  until  the  car 
is  brought  to  a  standstill.  Another  rule  allowing  only  a  certain 
number  of  people  in  a  car  should  be  made,  and  this  will  prevent 
accidents  that  occur  from  a  car  being  overfull. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

There  should  surely  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to 
maintain  lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings.  T  would  recom- 
mend the  use  of  automatic  gates  with  attendants  to  operate  thtjm, 
as  a  means  of  preventing  elevator  accidents. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

There  should  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to  maintain 
lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings. 
21 


642  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

Where  natural  light  is  lacking  it  should  be  mandatory  to  main- 
tain lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

There  should,  by  all  means,  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory 
that  lights  be  maintained  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings.  To 
prevent  elevator  accidents  I  would  recommend  proper  safeguards 
and  a  regular  official  inspection  at  least  once  a  month. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

There  should  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to  maintain 
lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings.  What  measures  could  be 
taken  to  prevent  elevator  accidents  is  a  technical  question.  As 
many  automatic  safeguards  should  be  provided  as  possible,  and 
the  owners  of  buildings  used  for  manufacturing  purposes  should 
be  obliged  to  instal  reasonable  safeguards. 

Jacob  Panhen: 

All  machines  in  manufacturing  estblishments  should  have  all 
safety  appliances,  and  inspectors  conversant  with  machinery  should 
be  employed  by  the  Commission  to  inspect  the  machinery  used 
in  shops. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

A  provision  should  be  made  making  it  mandatory  to  maintain 
lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

As  to  whether  a  provision  should  be  made  making  it  mandatory 
to  maintain  lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings,  an!  what 
measures  would  tend  to  prevent  elevator  accidents,  should  be  left 
to  the  board  of  technical  experts. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  643 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

In  case  the  elevator  is  in  a  place  where  natural  light  is  not 
sufficient  there  should  be  a  light  in  the  daytime,  and  in  all  cases 
a  light  should  be  kept  burning  at  night  in  case  of  work  being 
performed  in  the  building. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

There  should  be  a  provision  making  it  mandatory  to  maintain 
red  lights  in  front  of  all  elevator  openings.  We  would  recommend 
that  to  prevent  elevator  accidents,  men  and  not  boys  should  be 
employed  to  operate  the  cars,  and  automatic  opening  devices  should 
be  installed. 

OCCUPATIONAL   DISEASES. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman: 

I  have  frequently  argued  in  favor  of  the  compulsory  physical 
examination  of  employees  in  unhealthy  and  dangerous  industries. 
If  it  is  the  duty  of  the  State  to  prevent  the  existence  of  unsuitalble 
or  unfavorable  conditions  in  industry,  it  is  equally  the  duty  of 
the  State  to  prevent  the  employment  of  persons  at  work  unsuit- 
able to  their  physique  or  condition  of  health.  I  am  satisfied  that 
such  a  medical  examination  would  not  be  a  serious  matter,  but,  as 
has  been  the  case  in  Massachusetts,  prove  most  useful  in  eliminat- 
ing from  dangerous  or  unhealthy  trades  such  persons  as  by  their 
physique  or  condition  of  health  are  likely  to  be  seriously  injured 
in  consequence  of  their  calling.  This  applies  particularly  to  the 
dusty  trades  and  to  occupations  involving  the  risk  of  physical  over- 
strain. The  suggestion  further  applies  chiefly  to  young  persons 
and  women,  many  of  whom  work  under  conditions  or  at  tasks  for 
which  their  physique  or  condition  of  health  make  them  more  or 
less  disqualified,  and  the  pursuit  of  which  involves  the  risk  of  an 
early  physical  breakdown  with  consequent  permanent  impairment 
of  industrial  and  physical  efficiency. 

American  physicians  have  almost  entirely  neglected  the  field  of 
occupation  diseases,  and  most  of  our  information  concerning  their 
nature,  causes  and  distribution  is  derived  from  foreign  sources. 
Our  physicians  can  materially  aid  the  cause  of  industrial  disease 
prevention  by  bringing  to  public  attention  in  the  meetings1  of  med- 


644  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

ical  societies  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  suggestive  oases  of  ill- 
ness, due  more  or  less  to  the  conditions  under  which  the  patient 
was  employed. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

Physical  examination  of  employees  should  not  be  confined  to 
dangerous  industries.  It  -should  be  a  routine  part  of  tin:  work 
of  the  medical  division  of  the  Labor  Department. 

Dr.  S.  Adolphus  Knopf; 

The  majority  of  patients  who  come  under  my  observation 
in  tuberculosis  dispensary  and  hospital  work  in  Kew  York  city- 
are  garment  workers. 

I  would  rp.coinmend  better  ventilation  and  sanitation  of  work- 
shops, better  hygiene  of  tenements  and  reasonably  short  hours. 

I  favor  periodical  physical  examination  of  all  employees  in 
dangerous  and  non-dangerous  industries. 

Physicians  can  co-operate  to  bring  about  a  more  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  the  prevalence  and  extent  of  occupational  poisoning  or 
diseases  and  the  method  of  combating  them  by  reporting  and 
studying  them. 

If  by  industrial  consumption  —  a  term  with  which  I  am  not 
familiar  —  is  meant  tuberculosis,  phthisis  pulinonal is,  or  pulmon- 
ary consumption,  caused  directly  or  indirectly  by  certain  indus- 
trial occupations,  I  would  wish  to  say  that  in  my  estimate  nine 
tenths  of  all  tuberculous  cases  are  due  to  predisposition  or  in- 
fection contracted  in  the  pursuit  of  some  industrial  occupation, 
if  we  include  among  these  the  clerks  that  work  indoors,  talesmen 
and  saleswomen,  bookkeepers,  post-office  clerks  and  other 
employees. 

To  check  the  disease,  avoid  bad  housing,  underfeeding,  over- 
work, underpay;  educate  the  masses  in  general  hygiene,  take  cure 
of  the  tuberculous  at  the  right  time  and  at  the  right  place,  and 
have  state  and  municipal  governments  strengthened  to  enable 
them  to  inaugurate  preventive  measures  to  combat  tiibercu]»-i.> 
as  a  disease  of  the  masses;  and  lastly,  create  a  Federal  Depart- 
ment of  Health,  the  head  of  which  should  have  a  seat  in  tin- 
cabin  et. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  645 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Every  possible  safeguard  for  the  workers  in  unsafe  occupations 
should  be  provided,  and  the  use  of  any  material  which  is  poisonous 
should  be  prohibited. 

I  favor  compulsory  physical  examination  of  employees  in  dan- 
gerous industries.  Physicians  can  co-operate  to  bring  about  a 
more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  prevalence  and  extent  of  occu- 
pational poisoning  or  diseases  and  the  method  of  combating  them 
by  discussion  and  publicity. 

(2)  Better  lighting  of  rooms  should  be  secured,  too  long  hours 
of  work  should  be  prohibited,  adequate  wages  should  be  paid. 
Industrial  consumption,  like  tenement  consumption  is  chiefly  a 
disease  of  darkness,  overwork  and  inanition  and  bad  air  ta:d  only 
secondarily  a  disease  of  the  lungs. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

These  questions  could  all  be  worked  out  by  a  Division  of 
Medical  Inspection. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

To  check  occupational  poisonings  and  diseases  I  would  recom- 
mend proper  ventilation  and  the  use  of  proper  respirators,  and 
when  the  poisoning  is  absorbed  through  the  skin,  the  compulsory 
cleansing  of  the  hands  and  covering  them  with  proper  gloves. 

The  careful  examination  by  competent  medical  men  of  those 
employed  in  dangerous  industries  should  be  made  compulsory,  at 
least  four  times  a  year. 

Physicians  can  co-operate  to  bring  about  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  prevalence  and  extent  of  occupational  poisoning 
and  diseases  and  the  method  of  combating  them,  by  talks  to  em- 
ployers and  employees  illustrated  by  lantern  slides  and  other 
materials. 

Of  all  those  who  die  between  the  ages  of  15  and  45,  one-third 
die  of  pulmonary  tuberculosis.  Consumption  is  much  more  preval- 
ent with  those  who  work  indoors  than  with  those  engaged  in  out- 
door occupations;  it  is  especially  prevalent  in  dusty  occupations. 


640  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

I  am  not  in  favor  of  compulsory  physical  examination  of  em- 
ployees in  dangerous  industries,  but  I  do  favor  such  examination 
in  unsanitary  industries. 

Physicians  can  co-operate  in  bringing  about  a  more  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  prevalence  and  extent  of  occupational  poisoning 
or  diseases  and  the  method  of  combating  them,  by  reporting  cases 
that  come  under  their  observation. 

To  check  industrial  consumption,  I  would  recommend  that  the 
same  should  be  investigated  and  left  to  the  Board  of  Medical 
Advisers 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

Expert  advice  should  be  had  as  to  the  extent  of  occupational 
poisonings  and  diseases  in  the  State  of  New  York,  and  as  to  what 
measures  should  be  recommended  to  check  such  poisonings  and 
diseases. 

I  favor  compulsory  physical  examination  of  employees  in  dan- 
gerous industries.  Let  the  physicans  say  how  they  can  co-operate 
to  bring  about  a  more  thorough  knowledge  of  the  prevalence  and 
extent  of  occupational  poisoning  or  diseases  and  the  method  of 
combating  them.  Cases  of  industrial  consumption  are  too  many 
to  enumerate. 

EMPLOYMENT   OF  WOMEN  AND  CHILDREN  IN 
INDUSTRY. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

The  employment  of  girls  under  16  years  of  age  should  be  pro- 
hibited in  all  industries.  The  employment  of  women  should  be 
prohibited  in  these  industries  requiring  speeding-up,  heavy  manual 
labor,  and  in  such  further  industries  as  physical  examination  shall 
show  to  be  undesirable  for  the  employment  of  women. 

The  employment  of  males  under  16  years  of  age  should  be  pro- 
hibited. If  the  physical  examination  of  all  persons  is  undertaken 
at  the  outset  of  their  employment,  there  will  be  no  physically 
unfit  children  in  employment. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  647 

Employment  of  any  pregnant  woman  should  be  prohibited,  and 
no  woman  with  a  child  under  a  year  old  should  be  permitted 
to  enter  into  factory  employment.  All  women  in  pregnancy  and 
with  children  under  a  year  old  should  be  pensioned  during  that 
period. 

Herman  Grossman: 

Children  under  16  years  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  in 
any  factory  regardless  of  sex. 

Children  that  are  unfit  should  not  be  employed.  I  am  opposed 
to  compulsory  physical  examination.  I  don't  think  any  child 
would  accept  a  position  unless  he  knew  he  could  do  the  work. 

A.  8.  Haight: 

There  should  be  as  stringent  a  compulsory  physical  examination 
as  possible  of  children  periodically  up  to  18  years  of  age  in  all 
industries. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

The  employment  of  girls  under  the  age  of  16  years  should  be 
prohibited  in  all  those  occupations  in  which  it  is  already  for- 
bidden and  also  in  stores,  offices,  on  the  stage  and  in  the  manu- 
facture of  tobacco  and  all  tther  substances  known  to  be  injurious 
to  the  immature  physique. 

By  reason  of  the  nervous  strain  which  it  entails,  employment  of 
girls  under  the  age  of  21  jears  should  be  prohibited  in  the  tele- 
phone service  and  in  all  gainful  occupations  after  6  P.  M. 

The  employment  of  women  should  be  prohibited  in  and  about 
mines,  and  in  all  gainful  occupations  after  6  p.  M. 

The  employment  of  males  under  16  years  of  age  should  be  for- 
bidden in  all  these  occupations  in  which  it  is  already  prohibited, 
and  in  all  other  occupations  now  generally  recognized  as  dan- 
gerous to  health  or  morals.  This  enumeration  should,  however, 
be  made  specific  and  transferred  from  the  Penal  Code  to  the 
Labor  Law,  to  be  enforced  by  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 


648  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

The  employment  of  males  under  21  years  of  age  should  be 
prohibited  ill  all  running  of  elevators,  in  the  delivery  of  telegrams 
and  messages  in  the  service  of  telegraph  and  messenger  com- 
panies, on  the  same  grounds  on  which  such  employment  is  now 
prohibited  between  the  hours  of  10  P.  M.  and  5  A.  M.  Every 
argument  for  such  prohibition  for  the  shorter  period  applies  for 
the  whole  24  hours,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  loss  of  sleep 
through  work  at  night  which  is  obviously  already  covered  by  the 
statute. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

The  employment  of  girls,  both  under  16  years  of  age  and  21 
years,  and  of  women,  should  be  prohibited  in  all  indusiries  in 
which  their  employment  means  a  reducing  of  wages  below  what 
would  be  paid  to  the  men  for  the  same  grade  and  amount  of  work, 
and  in  all  industries  in  which  their  physical  strength  is  unduly 
taxed,  especially  in  all  cases  where  there  is  night  work.  The 
employment  of  males  should  be  prohibited  as  messenger  boys,  pool 
room  attendants,  etc.,  also  in  industries  where  their  strength 
would  be  unduly  taxed. 

The  employment  of  physically  unfit  children  should  be  pro- 
hibited by  law  and  there  should  be  compulsory  examination  of 
of  all  children  under  18  periodically  in  all  industries. 

Women  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  in  factories  at  least 
three  weeks  before  and  three  weeks  after  childbirth. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

The  employment  of  girls  should  be  prohibited  in  stores  and 
factories.  The  employment  of  women  should  be  prohibited  where 
the  work  is  so  severe  that  it  is  a  strain  on  the  constitution. 
Physicially  unfit  childien  should  not  be  permitted  to  work. 

E.  A.   Quarles: 

There  should  be  compulsory  physical  examination  of  children 
periodically  up  to  18  years  of  age,  in  all  industries. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  649 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

It  would  be  better  that  no  one,  male  or  female,  should  be  em- 
ployed in  factories  of  any  sort  under  the  age  of  18  years;  that 
the  employment  of  all  under  16  years  should  be  absolutely  pro- 
hibited. 

P.  Teciimseh  Sherman: 

Questions  as  to  what  industries  the  employment  of  women  and 
girls,  and  males,  should  be  prohibited,  should  be  left  to  the  Board 
of  Medical  Advisers. 

To  prevent  the  employment  of  physically  unfit  children  I  would 
recommend  that  the  Factory  Inspectors  be  given  power  to  require 
the  discharge  of  minors  from  employment  for  which  they  are 
unfitted,  subject  to  reversal  by  the  Board  of  Health. 

The  employment  of  women  immediately  before  and  after  child- 
birth should  be  prohibited  by  imposing  a  fine  upon  the  employer, 
superintendent  or  foreman,  who  knowingly  employs  such  women. 

Charles  Yates  and  E.  V.  Wood: 

The  employment  of  girls  should  be  prohibited  in  all  industries. 

HOURS  OF  LABOR. 
J.  B.  Callacy: 

One  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

S.  N.  Dix: 

The  one  hour  lunch  period  should  not  be  made  mandatory. 

Herman  Grossman: 

Eight  hours  a  day  for  women  and  children  should  be  the  stand- 
ard. Seven  days  a  week  labor  can  be  prevented  in  all  industries 
by  enforcing  a  law  to  that  effect.  It  also  depends  on  the  labor 
organizations  to  prohibit  the  members  working  seven  days.  Fe- 
male minors  or  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  16  and  1.8  should 
absolutely  not  be  permitted  to  work  more  than  ten  hours.  They 


650  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

should  not  be  permitted  to  work  more  than  eight  hours.  Male 
minors  between  16  and  18  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  after 
10  P.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M.  It  would  be  enough  if  they  have 
to  work  till  8  o'clock,  but  they  should  not  start  before  8  A.  M. 
A  one-hour-lunch  period  should  positively  be  made  mandatory. 
This  will  give  employees  a  chance  to  take  a  walk,  because  a  half 
an  hour  passes  before  they  have  time  to  finish  their  lunch. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

One  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

No  woman  or  child  should  be  permitted  to  work  more  than 
eight  hours.  Seven  days'  labor  in  the  week  can  be  prevented  by 
stopping  it.  No  minor  of  either  sex  should  be  permitted  to  work 
more  than  eight  hours,  nor  should  they  be  permitted  to  work 
after  5  P.  M.  or  before  3  A.  M. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

Female  minors  or  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  16  and  18 
years  should  be  permitted  to  work  more  than  ten  hours  if  well 
and  strong,  and  they  so  desire.  This  also  applies  to  male  minors 
16  and  18  working  after  10  P.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M.  A  one-hour- 
lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

One  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

In  the  interests  of  uniformity  among  employees  and  employ- 
ments, we  recommend  establishing  the  eight  hour  day  for 
children  in  all  occupations,  with  8  A.  M.  as  the  opening  and  5  P.  M. 
as  the  closing  hour. 

We  recommend  aboliskmg  the  Christmas  exemption  for  girls  over 
16  years  of  age  in  stores  in  December,  by  which  they  now  work 
unlimited  hours  during  eight  days,  and  extending  uniform  pro- 
visions and  uniform  inspection  throughout  the  first,  second  and 
third  class  cities.  There  is  no  more  reason  for  variety  in  treat- 
ment of  mercantile  employees  than  of  workers  in  manufacture. 
The  great  need  is  for  simplicity  and  uniformity. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  651 

We  recommend  making  the  hours  of  labor  uniform  for  women 
and  minors. 

We  recommend  establishing  a  uniform  closing  hour  for  the 
work  of  women  and  minors  in  manufacture,  commerce,  hotels, 
offices,  telephone  service,  bakeries,  restaurants  and  laundries. 

The  working-day  for  women  and  minors  should  not  exceed  ten 
hours  in  any  case;  the  working  week  should  be  limited  to  54 
hours  with  the  option  of  nine  hours  on  six  days  or  ten  hours  on 
five  days  and  four  hours  on  Saturdays.  This,  however,  is  merely 
an  immediate  step  on  the  way  towards  a  working  week  of  48  hours 
and  a  working-day  of  eight  hours  for  women  and  minors. 

The  work  of  women  and  minors  should  be  limited  to  six  days 
in  the  week. 

In  the  interest  of  uniformity,  the  enforcement  of  all  provisions 
with  regard  to  labor  on  Sunday  should  be  lodged  with  tho  State 
Department  of  Labor  not,  as  at  present,  with  the  local  police. 

The  most  easily  enforced  law  on  the  statute  books  of  New  York 
State  with  regard  to  the  hours  of  labor  is  that  which  prescribes 
that  children  under  the  age  of  16  years  shall  not  be  employed  in 
manufacture  before  8  A.  M.  or  after  5  p.  M.  Every  person  con- 
cerned knows  when  this  law  is  violated,  children,  employers, 
parents,  fellow-employees,  passers-by  in  the  streets.  For  this 
reason  it  is  of  the  greatest  possible  value  to  the  children,  being 
almost  self-enforcing. 

Other  laws  governing  working  hours  of  women  and  minors  and 
children  are  enforcible  just  in  proportion  as  they  approach  this 
simplicity,  uniformity  and  definiteness. 

The  present  law  governing  the  working  hours  of  adult  women 
is  composed  of  the  bad,  left-over  remnants  of  former  times  sur- 
viving in  the  English  factory  acts,  from  which  it  is  copied.  It 
omits  the  good  points  which  are  found  in  the  English  textile  acts, 
i.  e.,  the  definite  limit  of  the  working  week  to  six  days  and  of  the 
working-day  to  ten  hours  and  the  definite  'opening  and  closing 
hours ;  and  the  posting  of  the  daily  working  periods. 

The  present  New  York  law  for  women  is  non-enforcible  and 
illusory,  and  therefore  demoralizing  to  every  one  concerned. 

Because  it  permits  working-days  of  varying  lengths  nominally 
for  the  purpose  of  making  a  shorter  working-day  on  one  day  of 


05*2  QucsnomcAntB  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

the  week,  it  would  be  necessary,  in  order  to  convict  an  ei  iployer 
of  violating  the  law,  to  have  an  inspector  present  watching  a  par- 
ticular worker  throughout  an  entire  week. 

For  facility  of  enforcement,  the  presence  of  women  and  minors 
in  a  workroom  at  times  other  than  those  posted  as  their  working 
periods  should  be  forbidden,  and  should  be  made  prima  facie 
evidence  of  illegal  employment.  This  should  apply  to  all  work- 
places, not  merely  to  some  of  tfiem  as  at  present. 

Since  limitation  of  working  hours  of  women  and  minors  is 
established  in  the  interest  of  the  health  of  women  and  all  minors, 
it  should  be  maintained  without  seasonal  interruptions.  If  the 
nature  of  the  work  calls  for  night  work  or  irregular  or  overtime 
work,  men  should  be  employed. 

Night  work  and  overtime  should  be  the  monopoly  of  rrtn  who 
are  better  able  to  protect  their  interests  in  regard  to  it  than  either 
women  or  children,  because  men  can  both  vote  and  expedite  legis- 
lation for  their  protection,  and  also  organize  and  thus  enforce 
their  demands.  Women  and  minors  can  do  neither  and  are,  there- 
fore, in  need  of  clear,  definite,  rigid  time  limits  with  uniform 
opening  and  closing  hours,  Sunday  rest,  night  rest,  posting  of 
hours,  and  acceptance  of  their  presence  on  the  premises  at  times 
not  included  in  the  posted  hours  as  evidence  of  illegal  employment. 

The  mercantile  employees'  law  should  be  extended  to  apply  to 
the  telephone  service  in  which  a  large  proportion  of  employees 
are  minors  who,  at  present  have  no  restrictions  upon  their  work 
at  night. 

Seven  days  labor  can  be  limited  in  all  industries  by  prohibiting 
it  and  attaching  heavy  penalties  for  violation  of  the  law.  Con- 
tinuing process  need  not  mean  continuing  employment  of  £ny  one 
person.  Relay  work  can  be  arranged. 

Females  at  any  age  should  not  be  allowed  to  work  more  than 
ten  hours  in  any  one  day. 

Male  minors,  between  16  and  18  years  of  age  should  not  be 
permitted  to  work  more  hours  in  one  day  than  will  permit  their 
regular  attendance  at  a  continuation  school. 

The  same  opinion  applies  as  in  the  case  of  minors  between  16 
and  18  years  of  age. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  653 

A  one  'hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory  in  the  in- 
terest of  the  health  of  the  employee,  and  also  in  the  interest  of 
the  enforcement  of  the  limit  upon  the  working  hours.  Variations 
in  the  length  of  the  lunch  hour  are  one  of  the  most  availabc  means 
of  violating  the  statute  fixing  the  length  of  the  working-day. 

Dr.  8.  Adolphus  Knopf: 

One  hour  for  lunch  should  be  made  mandatory.  An  opportunity 
should  be  given  to  indoor  laborers  to  rest  or  enjoy  themselves  in 
the  open  air. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

I  would  recommend  that  the  existing  laws  relating  co  th^  num- 
ber of  hours  per  day  or  week  that  women  or  children  tre  per- 
mitted to  work  be  changed  by  the  enactment  of  the  so-called  54- 
hour  bill  by  the  next  session  of  the  Legislature. 

Seven  days  a  week  labor  can  be  prevented  by  making  it  a 
felony. 

Female  minors  or  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  16  fcnd  18 
years  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  more  than  ten  hours,  and 
male  minors  between  16  and  18  should  not  be  permitted  to  work 
after  10  p.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M.  The  number  of  hours  of  work 
per  day  or  week  should  be  limited  in  the  case  of  male  minors  be- 
tween the  ages  of  18  and  21  years.  A  one  hour  lunch  period  need 
not  necessarily  be  made  mandatory  if  the  total  number  of  hours 
of  work  is  reduced  to  eight  or  nine. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

I  would  recommend  at  present  54  hours  a  week  for  women  or 
children  to  work,  looking  toward  an  ultimate  ideal  of  44  hours  a 
week.  Seven  days  in  the  week  industry  can  be  prevented  by  hav- 
ing shifts  when  necessary.  Male  minors  between  16  and  18 
should  not  be  permitted  to  work  after  10  p.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M. 
The  number  of  hours  of  work  per  day  or  week  should  be  limited 
in  the  case  of  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  18  and  21  years. 
A  one  hour  lunch  period  should  not  be  made  mandatory. 


654  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Jacob  Pariken: 

Xo  minors  between  the  ages  of  16  and  18  should  work  more 
than  eight  hours  a  day,  nor  should  they  be  permitted  to  work  be- 
tween 8  P.  M.  and  7  A.  M.  Minors  between  18  and  21  should  not 
be  permitted  to  work  more  than  ten  hours  a  day,  and  not  be  per- 
mitted to  work  at  all  between  10  P.  M.  and  6  A.  M. 

A  one  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

The  law  permitting  children  between  14  and  16  to  work  certain 
hours  of  the  day  should  be  repealed,  and  no  minors  under  16 
should  be  permitted  to  work  under  any  circumstances  or  at  any 
time.  The  provision  in  the  law  suspending  the  law  regarding 
female  workers  between  December  15  and  January  1st  with  re- 
gard to  the  employment  of  children  of  whatever  age,  should  be 
repealed. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

Female  minors  or  male  workers  between  the  ages  of  16  and  18 
years  should  never  under  any  circumstances  be  permitted  to  work 
more  than  ten  hours,  nor  should  male  minors  between  16  and  18 
ever  be  permitted  to  work  after  10  p.  M.  or  before  6  A.  M.  The 
number  of  hours  of  work  per  day  or  week  should  be  limited  in  the 
case  of  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  18  and  21  years.  A  one 
hour  lunch  period  should  be  mandatory. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Eight  hours  of  actual  labor  is  all  that  should  be  demanded  of 
any  male  or  female,  and  sufficient  shift  should  be  used  as  are 
necessary  in  those  occupations  in  which  work  has  to  be  mairtained 
for  a  longer  period. 

A  one  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

I  would  recommend  that  the  law  relating  to  the  number  of 
hours  per  day  or  week  that  women  or  children  should  be  per- 
mitted to  work  be  changed  to  be  more  elastic  so  that  it  will  pro- 
hibit only  what  is  in  fact  injurious  to  health. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  655 

Seven  day  labor  cannot  be  prevented  in  all  industries.  As  to 
allowing  males  between  16  and  18  years  of  age  to  work  more 
than  ten  hours,  I  would  say  that  males  over  16  should  be  left 
alone.  As  to  females,  that  should  be  left  to  the  Board  of  Medical 
Advisors.  Male  minors  between  16  and  18  should  surely  be  per- 
mitted to  work  after  10  p.  M.  and  before  6  A.  M.  under  conditions 
not  injurious  to  health.  The  number  of  hours  of  work  per  day 
or  week  in  the  case  of  male  minors  between  the  ages  of  18  and 
21  years  should  not  be  limited.  Such  laws  are  sentimental 
nullities. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

]STo  man,  woman  or  child  should,  under  any  circumstances, 
work  more  than  48  hours  a  week. 

There  is  no  occasion  for  any  person  to  work  seven  days  per 
week. 

Male  minors  between  16  and  18  should  not  be  permitted  to 
work  after  6  p.  M.  nor  before  7  A.  M. 

If  there  is  an  eight-hour  day,  each  occupation  should  arrange 
its  own  time  for  lunch. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

I  would  recommend  that  working  hours  should  be  eight  hours 
for  all.  Seven  days  in  a  week  labor  can  be  prevented  in  all  in- 
dustries by  making  a  law  against  it  and  then  enforcing  it,  with 
absolute  protection  to  the  person  refusing  to  work  the  seventh 
consecutive  day.  Female  minors  or  male  minors  between  the  ages 
of  16  and  18  years  should  not  under  any  circumstances  be  per- 
mitted to  work  more  than  48  hours  a  week.  Male  minors  between 
16  and  18  should  not  be  permitted  to  work  after  10  p.  M.  or  before 
6  A.  M.,  nor  over  eight  hours  between  6  A.  M.  and  10  p.  M. 

A  one  hour  lunch  period  should  be  made  mandatory. 

BAKEKIES. 
/.  B.  Callacy: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  because  a 
cellar  cannot  get  enough  air  and  natural  light.  Destroy  all  exist- 


650  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

ing  cellar  bakeries.    In  the  future,  bakeries  are  to  be  built  on  the 
main  floor  of  the  building. 

It  is  not  necessary  that  existing  bakeries  in  which  the  distance 
between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet  be  called  un- 
lawful. They  can  remain  the  way  they  are  until  the  law  is 
passed  which  will  call  for  the  destruction  of  all  bakeries  in  cellars. 
There  should  be  a  compulsory  physical  examination  made  periodi- 
cally of  employees  in  bakeries. 

8.  M.  Dix: 

Establish  standards  and  hold  to  compliance. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

Cellar  bakeries  should  be  eliminated  and  employees  required 
to  furnish  certificate  of  fitness  from  a  certified  medical  examiner 
and  not  from  just  a  doctor.  Bakeries  should  be  licensed. 

Herman  Grossman: 

As  to  those  cellars  used  for  bakeries  which  are  in  existence 
already,  we  must  see  that  all  the  requirements  of  the  law  are 
lived  up  to,  but  in  the  future,  bakeries  in  cellars  should  not  bo 
permitted. 

Existing  bakeries  in  which  the  distance  between  the  floor  and 
ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet  should  positively  be  declared  unlaw- 
ful. Existing  bakeries,  the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth  greater 
than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the 
building,  should  be  prohibited.  Employees  in  bakeries  should 
be  required  to  furnish  a  medical  certificate  of  fitness. 

Bakeries  should  be  referred  to  the  Health  Department,  and  if 
they  are  good,  clean  and  wholesome  places,  should  be  given  a 
license.  I  am  absolutely  against  allowing  future  bakeries  to  be 
opened  in  cellars.  All  bakeries  should  positively  be  licensed. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited.  Bakeries 
should  be  in  clean,  wholesome  quarters  always. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  657 

H.  E,  Hessler: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited.  Existing 
bakeries  in  which  the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less 
than  nine  feet  should  be  declared  unlawful.  Employees  in  bak- 
eries should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical  certificate  of  fitness 
and  there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical  examination  made 
periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

In  the  case  of  bakeries  already  in  existence,  the  use  of  cellars 
therefor  need  not  necessiirily  be  prohibited  if  clean,  and  aa  to 
future  bakeries,  the  use  of  cellars  need  not  be  prohibited.  The 
standard  of  ventilation  in  cellar  or  basement  bakeries  should  be 
sufficient  to  be  wholesome. 

If  the  ceiling  is  fireproof,  existing  bakeries  in  which  the  dis- 
tance between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet  need  not 
be  declared  unlawful.  Existing  bakeries,  the  floors  of  which  are 
of  a  depth  greater  than  -i  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk 
level  adjacent  to  the  building,  should  not  necessarily  be  prohibited. 
Employees  in  bakeries  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical 
certificate  of  fitness  and  there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical 
examination  made  periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries. 

Mrs.  Florence  Kelley: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  in  the  in- 
terest of  (a)  the  employees,  of  (b)  the  consumers,  of  (c)  the 
tenants  for  whom  the  additional  heat  in  the  tenements  is  an  addi- 
tional burden  in  the  summer  and  of  (d)  the  reduction  of  con- 
gestion of  the  population.  It  should  be  prohibited  after  a  fixed, 
early,  future  date  for  bakeries  already  in  existence,  and  immedi- 
ately for  all  new  bakeries. 

Employees  in  bakeries  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical 
certificate  of  fitness  at  frequent  intervals  in  their  own  interest 
and  that  of  the  consumers. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Within  a  year  of  the  date  of  bill  prohibiting  such  use,  cellars 
for  bakeries  should  be  forbidden. 


658  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

The  standard  of  ventilation  in  existing  cellar  or  basement 
bakeries  should  be  the  same  as  in  factories.  Existing  bakeries  in 
which  the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine 
feet  need  not  necessarily  be  declared  unlawful,  if  within  c  year 
of  the  date  of  bill  prohibiting  their  use,  the  law  is  complied  with. 
Existing  bakeries  the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth  greater  than 
4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the  build- 
ing, should  be  prohibited.  A  medical  certificate  of  fitness  should 
be  required  of  all  employees  in  bakeries,  and  there  should  be  a 
compulsory  physical  examination  periodically  of  employees  in 
bakeries.  All  bakeries  should  be  licensed. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  both  as  to 
existing  bakeries  and  future  ones.  Existing  bakeries  in  which 
the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet 
should  be  declared  unlawful.  Existing  bakeries  the  floors  of 
which  are  of  a  depth  greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or 
sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the  building,  should  be  prohibited. 

Employees  in  bakeries  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical 
certificate  of  fitness,  and  there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical 
examination  made  periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries.  All 
bakeries  should  be  licensed. 

A.  E.  Quarles: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  both  as 
to  existing  bakeries  and  future  ones.  Existing  bakeries  ii*  which 
the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet 
should  be  declared  unlawful.  Existing  bakeries,  the  floors  of 
which  are  of  a  depth  greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or 
sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the  building,  should  be  prohibited. 
Employees  in  bakeries  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical 
certificate  of  fitness,  and  there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical 
examination  made  periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries.  All 
bakeries  should  be  licensed. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  G59 

Dr.  Delanccy  Rochester: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  as  to  exist- 
ing bakeries  and  also  as  to  future  bakeries.  Existing  bakeries  in 
which  the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine 
feet  should  be  declared  unlawful.  Existing  bakeries  the  floors  of 
which  are  of  a  depth  greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or 
sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the  building,  should  be  prohibited.  Em- 
ployees in  bakeries  should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical  certifi- 
cate of  fitness,  and  there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical  exami- 
nation made  periodically  of  employees  in  bakeries.  All  bakeries 
should  be  licensed. 

P.  Tccumseli  Sherman: 

The  use  of  cellars  in  existing  bakeries  should  not  be  prohibited,* 
but  in  future  bakeries  they  should  be,  except  where  connected 
with  shops,  etc.,  which  shops  are  above  the  basement.  What  stand- 
ard of  ventilation  should  be  made  mandatory  in  existing  cellar 
or  basement  bakeries  should  be  left  to  the  Board  of  Medical  Ad- 
visers with  concurrent  power  in  the  Board  of  Health.  With  them 
should  also  be  left  the  question  as  to  whether  existing  bakeries 
in  which  the  distance  between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than 
nine  feet  should  be  declared  unlawful,  whether  existing  bakeries, 
the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth  greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below 
the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent  to  the  building,  should  be 
prohibited,  whether  employees  in  bakeries  should  be  required  to 
furnish  a  medical  certificate  of  fitness,  whether  there  should  be 
a  compulsory  physical  examination  periodically  of  employees  in 
bakeries,  and  what  should  be  the  minimum  requirements  of  ventila- 
tion, light,  height  of  coiling,  distance  below  street  level  in  base- 
ment bakeries  to  be  opened  in  the  future.  All  bakeries  should  be 
licensed. 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

The  prohibition  of  existing  or  future  cellar  bakeries  should  be 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor,  as  also  the 
standard  of  ventilation  in  such  bakeries,  the  question  whether 


660  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

existing  bakeries  in  which  the  distance  between  the  floor  tmd  ceil- 
ing is  less  than  nine  feet  should  be  declared  unlawful,  and 
whether  existing  bakeries,  the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth 
greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent 
to  the  building  should  be  prohibited,  and  whether  bakery  employees 
should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical  certificate  of  fitness,  and 
there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical  examination  made  periodi- 
cally of  employees  in  bakeries.  All  bakeries  should  be  licensed. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

The  use  of  cellars  for  bakeries  should  be  prohibited  as  to  exist- 
ing and  future  bakeries.  Existing  bakeries  in  which  the  distance 
between  the  floor  and  ceiling  is  less  than  nine  feet  should  be 
declared  unlawful,  and  bakeries  the  floors  of  which  are  of  a  depth 
greater  than  4  ft.  6  in.  below  the  street  or  sidewalk  level  adjacent 
to  the  building,  should  be  prohibited.  Employees  in  bakeries 
should  be  required  to  furnish  a  medical  certificate  of  fitness,  and 
there  should  be  a  compulsory  physical  examination  made  period- 
ically of  employees  in  bakeries.  All  bakeries  should  be  licensed. 


FIRE  PREVENTION,  FIRE-ESCAPE  FACILITIES  AND 
BUILDING   CONSTRUCTION. 

Edward  F.  Croker: 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  proper  protection  of  employees 
to  have  mandatory  legislation  enacted  for  such  fire  drills  as  may 
be  necessary,  as  the  various  employers  will  not  go  to  the  small 
expense  and  trouble  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  their  employees 
unless  compelled  to  do  so. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  lay  down  an  absolute  rule  to  govern 
all  buildings,  as  they  vary  as  to  their  exits  and  means  of  escape, 
etc.,  but  there  should  be  a  competent  person  employed  to  be  on 
duty  continuously  during  working  hours  for  the  purpose  of  seeing 
that  all  fire  appliances  are  in  proper  working  order,  stairs,  hall- 
waye,  etc.,  properly  lighted,  and  that  no  rubbish  or  other  ma- 
terials likely  to  cause  fire  is  allowed  to  accumulate,  and  that  all 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  661 

other  matters  such  as  unprotected  lights,  gas  and  heating  irons, 
smoking,  etc.,  are  not  allowed,  and  that  an  electric  bell  system 
is  established  throughout  the  building  for  the  purpose  of  drilling 
one  or  more  floors  at  the  same  time.  The  man  above  described 
should  be  in  uniform  and  clothed  to  a  certain  extent  with  some 
authority.  His  duty  should  also  be  to  drill  the  various  employees 
from  time  to  time  and  organize  the  male  employees  into  various 
fire  brigades  and  instruct  them  how  to  properly  use  the  various 
fire  appliances  in  case  of  fire. 

Gherardi  Davis: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  a  factory  during  working  hours  should 
hardly  be  made  a  crime.  If  you  cannot  stop  it  by  discipline,  you 
cannot  stop  it  at  all.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  parti- 
tions in  any  part  of  a  factory  should  not  necessarily  be  prohibited. 
The  spread  of  fire  because  of  inflammable  material  used  can  be 
prevented  by  putting  rubbish  in  metal  cans.  Automatic  sprinklers 
should  be  installed.  Exits  to  fire-escapes  need  not  be  painted  red. 
It  would  be  useless.  The  sashes  need  not  be  of  metal.  Change 
in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments,  if  not  in  violation 
of  law,  should  be  permitted  without  filing  and  approving  of  plans. 
Fire  drills  should  be  made  mandatory  once  a  week  at  first,  follow- 
ing public  school  drills.  I  doubt  whether  it  would  be  practicable 
to  compel  the  installation  of  the  so-called  co-operative  drill  for  the 
employees  of  different  manufacturing  establishments  in  the  same 
building.  The  installation  of  automatic  fire  sprinklers  should  be 
made  mandatory  in  all  manufacturing  establishments  where  in- 
flammable materials  are  used.  The  mandatory  requirement  of 
automatic  sprinklers  should  depend  upon  the  character  of  the 
industry  but  not  upon  the  number  of  persons  employed  or  the 
distance  of  the  establishment  above  the  street  level,  or  upon  the 
height  of  the  building  in  which  the  establishment  is  located.  An 
auxiliary  fire-alarm  system  should  be  mandatory  in  all  factories 
and  manufacturing  establishments.  It  should  be  installed  in  each 
loft  independently.  Such  system  communicating  direct  with  fire 
headquarters  would  probably  not  be  practical  and  would  tend  to 
confuse  the  Department.  Manufacturing  above  a  certain  number 
of  stories  should  be  prohibited.  I  consider  this  the  most 
important  of  all  your  questions.  My  own  idea  is  that 


662  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

1.  The  number  of  people  employed  on  a  floor  in  manufactur- 
ing establishments  should  be  reduced  as  you  go  up. 

2.  There  should  not  be  allowed  any  manufacturing  of  inflam- 
mable   materials    to    be    carried    on    above    100  feet    and    if 
inflammable  materials  are   used  in   the  lower  stories,   then  the 
number  of  people  employed  above  them  should  be  very  small. 

3.  I  do  not  believe  you  can  empty  ten  stories  of  a  twenty-story 
building  with  a  hot,  smoky  fire  on  the  ninth  floor,  no  matter  how 
many  means  of  exit  you  have  in  the  building.     The  capacity  of 
a  staircase  is  small.  The  more  turns  it  has,  the  smaller  its  capacity, 
because  the  movement  is  slow.     I  do  not  believe  you  can  keep 
smoke  out  of  the  stairway?,  and  a  very  little  smoke  makes  a  panic. 

For  these  reasons  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  employment  of  people 
in  manufacturing  establishments  where  inflammable  material  is 
used  should  not  be  allov/ed  above  the  eighth  or  ninth  story,  and 
in  any  event,  the  number  of  people  should  be  greatly  reduced 
as  you  go  up  in  the  stories,  and  that  no  manufacturing  of  any 
kind  should  be  allowed  in  a  building  above  eight  or  nine  stories 
in  height  if  any  inflammable  materials  are  used  in  the  building. 

The  locking  of  doors,  if  wilful,  should  be  made  a  felony.  The 
law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  doors  or  shutters  opening 
inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes.  It  is  hardly  necessary 
that  outside  fire-escapes  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level. 
I  do  not  see  how  it  is  possible  to  have  a  standard  of  construction 
for  outside  fire-escapes.  It  is  a  very  difficult  question  to  ?ay  what 
kind  of  ladders  should  extend  from  the  lowest  balcony  to  the 
ground,  as  it  depends  in  part  on  the  character  of  the  building 
and  the  use  of  the  store  floor.  The  number  of  people  permitted 
to  work  in  a  factory  should  depend  upon  the  number  and  kind 
of  exits  provided.  I  should  think  it  would  be  useless  to  have 
every  manufacturing  establishment  post  a  card  showing  the  maxi- 
mum number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  it. 

I  am  opposed  to  the  bureaucracy  involved  in  licensing  factories 
and  loft  buildings.  You  will  break  down  all  supervision  if  you 
try  too  much.  Let  such  things  be  regulated  by  the  general  build- 
ing law.  If  the  use  is  changed,  the  building  must  be  changed. 


QUESTIONNAIBE    ISSUED    BY    COMMISSION.  663 

Existing  stairways  and  elevator  shafts  need  not  always  be  en- 
closed in  fireproof  walla.  In  existing  buildings  50  x  80  feet,  fire 
walls  should  be  ordered  installed.  They  are  absolutely  necessary. 
There  should  be  no  50  ft.  open  lofts.  Fire  towers  should  be  or- 
dered in  all  existing  buildings  wider  than  25  ft.  and  over  100  ft. 
high,  but  I  doubt  their  efficacy  in  tall  buildings.  To  secure  ade- 
quate fire-escape  exits,  I  should  first  limit  the  height  of 
buildings. 

Robert  W.  DeForest: 

Some  prohibition  should  be  placed  on  the  height  above  the 
ground  at  which  a  large  number  of  employees  might  be  congre- 
gated and  where  inflammable  material  might  exist  in  .icy  such 
amounts  as  to  cause  a  repetition  of  the  Triangle  fire.  I  doubt 
if  any  form  of  fire-escape  can  be  an  adequate  exit  for,  say,  a 
hundred  employees  of  average  intelligence  from  the  eighth,  ninth, 
or  tenth  story  of  a  building  in  case  of  an  alarm  of  fire.  In  any 
case  all  such  factories  should  have  outside  fire-escapes  or  other 
equivalent  in  the  the  way  of  outside  stairways  with  a  standard 
of  construction  not  less  than  that  required  by  the  Tenement  law. 

Such  structural  changes  in  existing  buildings,  however  de- 
sirable, could  not  practically  be  obtained  and  the  loss  might  be 
out  of  all  proportion  to  the  gain.  When  I  say  loss  I  do  not 
merely  refer  to  the  cost  of  construction.  Such  drastic  require- 
ments might  easily  close  many  factories,  throw  people  out  of  em- 
ployment and  prove  a  great  hardship  to  the  workers. 

£.  M.  Dix: 

Smoking  during  working  hours  should  be  made  a  crime  in  any 
part  of  a  factory  in  cities  of  the  first  and  second  class.  Wooden 
or  non-fireproof  partitions  should  be  prohibited.  The  installation 
of  automatic  sprinklers  should  not  be  made  mandatory  in  all  fac- 
tories. The  prohibition  of  manufacturing  above  a  certain  number 
of  stories  depends  upon  the  construction  of  the  building  and  char- 
acter of  the  business.  Doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that 
lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes  should  be  absolutely  prohibited.  Out- 
ride fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level 


664  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

of  the  factory.  There  should  be  a  standard  of  construction  of 
outside  fire-escapes.  The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in 
a  factory  should  be  dependent  upon  the  number  and  the  kind 
of  exits  provided.  Such  a  provision  should  be  made  specific, 
based  on  the  time  required  to  get  the  employees  out  of  the  build- 
ing. Every  manufacturing  establishment  should  have  a  card 
posted  showing  the  maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to  work 
there.  It  seems  reasonable  that  factories  and  loft  buildings  should 
be  licensed  for  certain  designated  occupations,  and  that  any  change 
should  be  prohibited  unless  expressly  authorized.  Stairways 
winding  around  elevator  shafts  need  not  be  removed  if  of  fire- 
proof construction.  The  enclosing  of  elevator  shafts  and  stairways 
in  fireproof  walls  and  the  compulsory  installation  of  fire  walls, 
seem  less  fair  than  to  restrict  the  use  of  inadequately  protected 
property. 

J.  W.  Ferguson: 

It  should  be  compulsory  for  every  manufacturing  concern  hav- 
ing over  25  employees  above  the  third  floor  in  a  building  to  have 
a  fire  drill  under  the  supervision  of  proper  monitors  at  least  once 
a  month. 

The  utility  and  safety  of  the  present  fire-escapes  could  be  in- 
creased by  substituting  metal  or  metal  covered  sash  glazed  with 
wire  glass  for  the  ordinary  wooden  sash  glazed  with  plain 
^lass.  The  upper  section  of  the  sash  should  be  securely 
fastened  which  would  prevent  the  smoke  or  flames  reaching  the 
fire-escape  in  case  the  window  was  opened  at  the  top.  The  lower 
section  of  the  sash  coni-1  be  hung  with  weights  if  necessary,  but 
preferably  they  should  be  closed. 

Metal  sash  and  wire  glass  should  be  placed  in  all  windows  open- 
ing onto  the  fire-escape  or  within  6  ft.  of  the  same. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  in  existing  buildings  to  change  the 
wooden  frame  in  which  the  sash  is  placed  as  they  could  not  be 
destroyed  in  the  five  or  ten  minutes  which  would  be  necessary 
for  the  people  to  get  out  of  the  building. 

New  buildings  should  have  metal  frames  as  well  as  metal  sash 
where  they  are  adjacent  to  or  open  onto  the  fire-escapes. 


Qn.si  [oNNAiRK  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  665 

The  stairways  in  new  buildings  of  more  than  four  stories  should 
have  the  stairs  in  a  fireproof  enclosure,  independent  of  nri,l  in  no 
n;i v  connected  with  the  elevator.  The  only  opening  to  the  stairs 
should  bo  from  the  main  hallway  or  the  loft,  as  noted  on  the 
enclosed  sketch. 

The  door  to  the  stairway  shaft,  as  well  as  that  to  the  elevator 
.-•tui  ft,  should  have  metal-covered  frames  and  the  doors  should  be 
metal-covered  with  wire  glass  if  any  light  is  required. 

Where  the  building  is  large  enough,  the  fire-escape  should  be 
uu-losed  in  a  fireproof  shaft  inside  of  the  building,  access  to  which 
should  be  by  means  of  a  balcony  with  a  doorway,  the  doors  opening 
out  onto  the  balcony  and  doors  from  the  balcony  to  the  fire-escape 
opening  in. 

There  should  be  no  other  communication  to  the  shaft  enclosing 
me  fire-escapes. 

A  good  protection  for  existing  buildings  would  be  to  utilize 
tne  present  stand  pipe  as  a  supply  to  sprinklers  placed  on  all 
floors,  each  sprinkler  head  not  to  cover  over  100  sq.  ft.  of  area. 
This  stand  pipe  should  have  a  Siamese  connection  at  the  sidewalk, 
to  which  connection  could  be  made  from  the  fire  engine.  With 
this  arrangement  it  would  be  possible  for  water  pumped  by  the 
fire  engine  to  be  confined  directly  to  the  point  where  the  fire  ex- 
isted without  jeopardizing  the  life  of  the  fireman  who  would 
otherwise  have  to  fight  his  way  through  the  smoke  to  reach  the  fire 
with  the  ordinary  hose. 

J.  R.  Freeman: 

Automatic  sprinkler  protection  should  be  made  mandatory  in 
substantially  all  manufacturing  establishments  where  stock  of  a 
combustible  nature  is  worked  or  where  the  apparatus  or  furnishing 
of  supplies  present  any  large  amount  of  combustible  material, 
Mich,  for  example,  as  clothing  factories,  woodworking  factories, 
paper  box  and  other  paperworking  factories,  electrical  apparatus 
factories,  food  product  factories,  etc.,  for  all  rooms  exceeding,  say, 
2,000  sq.  ft.  in  area  (and  in  many  cases  irrespective  of  the  area), 
and  including  factories  constructed  of  incombustible  materials  as 
well  as  those  of  slow-burning  construction  and  those  of  quick-burn- 
ing construction. 


666  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

The  other  great  proventative  of  loss  of  life  and  property  by 
fire  is  an  improved  degree  of  order  and  neatness,  enforced  by 
frequent  rigid  inspections,  under  which  all  waste  material  and 
rubbish  is  removed  before  night  to  a  safe  locality  outside  the 
manufacturing  rooms. 

J.  P.  Gray: 

Smoking  should  be  absolutely  forbidden  in  any  part  of  a  factory 
or  manufacturing  establishment  during  working  hours,  and  a 
severe  penalty  should  be  made  to  apply  where  such  practice 
prevails. 

I  do  not  believe  that  any  absolute  rule  in  regard  to  the  use  of 
wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  in  factories  can  be  devised 
which  will  be  feasible.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  this  should  be  left 
to  the  discretion  of  the  Inspection  Department. 

The  only  way  that  the  spread  of  fire  where  inflammable  materi- 
als are  used  can  be  prevented,  is  by  the  operatives  being  properly 
drilled  as  to  how  to  care  for  such  fires  when  they  occur.  Fire 
extinguishers  are  used,  but  the  fire  pail  is  of  the  greatest  benefit 
because  of  the  fact  that  every  man,  woman  and  child  knows  what 
it  is  there  for  and  how  to  use  it.  All  exits  should  have  some  dis- 
tinguishing mark  and  this  should  be  sufficiently  plain  to  catch  the 
eye  of  all  persons  in  the  room.  I  think  it  is  immaterial  whether 
the  windows  leading  to  the  fire-escapes  are  glazed  with  wired  glass 
or  with  plain  glass.  In  any  case,  these  windows  should  be  so 
weighted  that  they  can  be  easily  raised,  and  inspection  should  be 
made  often  enough  so  as  to  know  that  they  are  in  proper  operating 
condition. 

In  the  average  manufacturing  establishment  I  do  not  believe 
it  would  be  feasible  to  require  all  changes  in  the  interior  to  be 
submitted  to  the  Department  for  approval  before  being  carried 
out.  Such  regulation  would  greatly  interfere  with  manufacturing 
operations.  It  should  be  a  subject  of  inspection. 

Fire  drills  of  a  varying  degree  should  be  required  in  all  manu- 
facturing establishments,  depending  upon  the  class  of  manufactur- 
ing and  upon  the  number  of  operatives  employed. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  667 

I  believe  it  to  be  practicable  to  compel  the  installation  of  a  so- 
called  cooperative  drill,  where  there  are  several  manufacturing 
establishments  in  the  same  building.  The  owner  of  the  building 
should  be  compelled  to  insist  upon  these  drills  and  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  his  tenants.  Separate  and  independent  fire  drills 
for  each  tenant  would  be  valuable  when  such  drills  are  confined 
to  handling  of  the  apparatus  for  the  prevention  of  spreading  of 
fires.  For  quick  and  efficient  departure  from  a  building,  com- 
bined drills  are  necessary. 

For  many  years  I  have  been  firmly  convinced  that  automatic 
sprinkler  protection  is  an  absolute  necessity  in  all  manufacturing 
establishments  if  loss  of  life  by  fire  is  to  be  prevented.  The 
requirement  for  automatic  sprinklers  should  not  depend  wholly 
upon  the  character  of  the  industry  nor  upon  the  number  of  persons 
employed.  It  should  be  made  mandatory  in  all  manufacturing 
establishments  where  inflammable  materials  are  used,  or  where 
operatives  congregate  in  any  number.  Neither  should  it  depend 
upon  the  height  of  the  building,  although  possibly  a  one-story 
building  might  be  omitted,  but  such  buildings  do  not  occur  in  our 
large  cities. 

The  question  of  an  automatic  fire  alarm  in  manufacturing  es- 
tablishments is  one  open  to  debate.  Such  systems  easily  get  out  of 
order,  and  unless  a  very  complete  system  of  supervision  is  devised 
they  would  be  ineffective;  further,  unless  the  operatives  were 
thoroughly  drilled,  they  might  tend  to  creat  panics. 

Manufacturing  should  be  prohibited  above  the  tenth,  story,  pre- 
ferably above  the  eighth,  principally  because  of  difficulty  of  pro- 
viding a  sufficient  number  of  exits  for  operatives. 

Locked  doors  in  manufacturing  establishments  should  be  abso- 
lutely forbidden  and  a  severe  penalty  applied  to  same.  It  is  a 
dangerous  practice. 

The  regulation  of  spacing  of  machinery  is  a  most  difficult  prob- 
lem and  should  be  left,  in  my  opinion,  to  the  judgment  of  the 
management  of  the  Inspection  Department. 

All  doors  and  shutters  on  openings  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire- 
escapes  should  either  open  outwardly  or  be  of  the  automatic  slid- 
ing type.  On  openings  into  exit  towers,  a  swinging  fire  door 
of  any  type  is  objectionable,  in  that,  if  opening  outwardly  into  the 


668  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

tower,  it  may  swing  into  the  faces  of  those  coming  down  from 
above.  The  sliding  door  can  be  so  protected  at  the  sides  by  grill  work 
that  it  can  easily  be  slid  back  without  any  pressure  from  the  opera- 
tives interfering  with  same. 

While  outside  fire-escapes  would  be  most  effective  if  constructed 
at  about  the  floor  level  of  the  factory,  in  many  cases  this  would 
hardly  be  feasible;  hence  would  have  to  depend  upon  individual 
cases  and  be  a  subject  of  discretion  upon  the  part  of  the  manage- 
ment of  the  department. 

The  number  of  people  employed  in  a  factory  building  should 
be  dependent  upon  the  number  of  fire  exits  provided.  This  should 
be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  responsible  authority  in  each  case. 

Licensing  certain  buildings  for  certain  designated  occupations 
would  not  be  feasible. 

Stairways  should  not  be  permitted  where  they  wind  around 
elevators. 

All  elevator  shafts  should  be  enclosed  in  fireproof  wall  3.  I  do 
not  think  that  it  would  be  quite  feasible  to  enclose  all  existing 
stairways  in  fireproof  walls.  They  should  be  enclosed,  as  far  as 
feasible,  by  partitions  construsted  of  expanded  metal,  or  wired 
elass  and  cement,  with  doorway  at  the  bottom  of  the  stairways. 

With  automatic  sprinkler  protection,  fire  walls  would  be  wholly 
unnecessary  in  buildings  of  the  sizes  mentioned  in  the  question. 

The  need  of  fire  towers  in  existing  buildings  depends  largely 
upon  circumstances  and  must  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the 
rp.«poiL*iblo  authority  in  each  case. 

In  all  new  buildings,  at  least  two  efficient  methods  of  fire  exit 
should  be  provided.  Th'_'  only  efficient  method  of  fire  exit  is  through 
fireproof  towers  built  specially  for  the  purpose,  and  these  towers 
should  have  no  direct  communication  with  the  rooms.  They  could  be 
constructed  after  the  type  of  what  is  called  the  "  Philadelphia 
stair  tower."  This  tower  is  entered  from  each  story  by  passing 
through  a  doorway  outside  the  building  and  to  an  open  platform 
and  from  thence  into  the  tower. 

JJfnnnn  <irossman: 

Smoking  during  working  hours  in  any  part  of  the  factory 
should  be  made  a  crime.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  GC9 

partitions  in  any  factory  should  be  positively  prohibited.  In 
order  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  because  of  inflammable  material 
used  in  manufacture,  a  hose  should  be  at  hand  which  should  reach 
any  part  of  the  place.  Doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to 
oxits  should  be  painted  red  and  should  be  of  metal,  if  possible. 
Windows  leading  to  fire  escapes  should  be  of  wired  glass.  Changes 
in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments  should  be  per- 
mitted only  after  the  plans  have  been  filed  and  approved.  Fire 
drills  should  be  made  mandatory  in  all  factories  at  least  once  a 
month.  Of  course,  it  would  be  better  to  compel  the  installation 
of  a  so-called  co-operative  drill  for  the  employees  of  the  different 
r-stablishments  in  the  same  building.  I  would  simply  give  an 
an  order  that  every  manufacturer,  when  a  certain  signal  sounds, 
-:-nd  all  the  people  out  so  that  they  may  be  drilled  in  this  manner, 
and  every  manufacturer  should  be  made  familiar  with  what  the 
signal  would  be,  and  in  all  the  factories  in  the  same  building 
there  should  be  an  alarm  bell.  If  they  are  properly  trained,  this 
will  avoid  panics  and  confusion  in  case  of  fire.  They  can  begin 
to  train  them  every  two  weeks  separately,  and  once  a  month  every 
sh-ip  in  the  building  should  have  a  general  fire  drill.  It  will  be 
of  great  value  to  have  this  enforced. 

The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  be  made  posi- 
tively mandatory,  especially  where  they  manufacture  clothing, 
furs,  hair  goods,  shirt  waists  and  underwear.  Some  connection 
should  be  made  with  the  alarm  bells  of  the  different  shops.  For 
instance,  if  a  fire  begins  on  the  third  floor,  the  floors  above  should 
be  notified,  and  they  should  also  know  by  the  number  of  bells 
what  floor  the  fire  is  on.  In  all  buildings  where  there  are  more 
than  two  manufacturing  establishments,  an  automatic  fire  alarm 
should  be  put  in  without  fail. 

It  is  hard  to  settle  whether  manufacturing  can  be  prohibited 
above  a  certain  number  of  stories.  It  would  be  a  very  good 
thing  if  certain  manufacturing  were  not  allowed  above  the  fifth 
floor,  such  as  clothing,  furs,  hair  goods,  etc. 

There  should  be  a  very  heavy  punishment  for  locked  doors, — 
imprisonment,  but  no  money  fines. 

The  clear  passageway  between  machines  should  be  at  least  three 
feet.  The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  doors 


670  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire  escapes 
The  obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills  should 
be  prohibited.  Fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about 
the  floor  level  of  the  factory.  The  standard  of  construction  of 
outside  fire-escapes  should  be  left  to  architects.  There  should  be 
a  flight  of  steps  with  banisters. to  hold  on  to  from  the  lowest 
balcony  to  the  ground.  The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work 
in  a  factory  should  depend  on  the  number  and  kind  of  exits 
provided,  because  the  manufacturer  tries  to  have  fewer  exits  on 
account  of  burglars,  as  they  don't  all  go  to  the  expense  of  hiring 
a  watchman.  If,  however,  you  leave  this  provision  to  their  dis- 
cretion you  will  never  have  it.  If  you  can  enforce  it,  every  manu- 
facturing establishments  should  post  the  maximum  number  of 
people  permitted  to  work  there. 

Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  be  licensed  for  certain 
designated  occupations.  There  is  no  question  about  it.  It  would 
be  a  good  thing  if  you  were  able  to  order  the  removal  of  stair- 
ways that  wind  around  elevators  in  existing  buildings.  Elevator 
shafts  and  stairways  should  be  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls  if  pos- 
sible in  every  building.  I  think  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  order 
fire  towers  in  existing  buildings,  but  we  can  have  the  regular 
alarm  system;  also  on  every  floor  have  a  large  water  hose.  This 
will  be  much  better  than  the  tower.  To  secure  adequate  fire 
escape  exits  in  future  buildings,  there  should  be  a  requirement 
that  they  be  very  wide,  with  steps  and  handle  bars. 

A.  8.  Haight: 

Smoking  should  be  prohibited  in  any  part  of  the  factory  dur- 
ing working  hours.  Whether  or  not  the  use  of  wooden  or  non- 
fireproof  partitions  should  be  prohibited  depends  on  general  sur- 
roundings, escapes,  protection,  etc.  It  is  a  question  which  needs 
judgment  and  experience.  In  regard  to  changes  in  the  interior 
of  manufacturing  establishments,  I  think  we  should  make  laws 
with  as  little  detail  as  possible,  and  enforce  them. 

Separate  and  independent  fire  drills  for  different  manufactur- 
ing establishments,  in  one  building  would  have  no  value  whatever. 
The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  by  all  means  be 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  671 

made  mandatory  in  factories.  It  depends  upon  the  character  of 
the  building  whether  or  not  manufacturing  should  be  prohibited 
above  a  certain  number  -jf  stories. 

The  penalty  for  locking  doors  in  factories  while  the  employees 
are  on  the  premises  should  be  death  by  hanging.  The  law  should 
absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly 
that  lead  to  fire-escapes  or  exits,  and  also  the  obstruction  of  the 
exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  There  should  be  a  standard 
of  construction  of  outside  fire-escapes.  Safety  and  strength  are 
essential.  The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory 
should  certainly  be  dependent  on  the  number  and  kind  of  exits. 
Such  a  provision  should  be  made  discretionary,  with  appeal  to 
higher  authority.  Existing  elevator  shafts  and  stairways  should 
always  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fire-proof  walls. 

H.  E.  Hessler: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  the  factory  during  working  hours 
should  be  made  a  crime.  The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the 
use  of  doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or 
fire-escapes.  Outside  fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or 
about  the  floor  level  in  manufacturing  establishments. 

Joseph  Johnson: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  a  manufacturing  establishment  during 
working  hours  should  be  made  a  crime.  Where  the  danger  of 
fire  is  considerable,  the  ase  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions 
in  any  part  of  the  factory  should  be  prohibited.  To  prevent  the 
spread  of  fire  because  of  inflammable  material  used,  sprinklers 
should  be  installed,  and  no  large  unbroken  floor  areas  should 
be  permitted.  Doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  need 
not  necessarily  be  painted  red.  The  sashes  should  be  of  metal 
if  in  fireproof  walls  or  partitions.  Windows  leading  to  fire- 
escapes  should  be  made  of  wired  glass. 

Changes  in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments 
?hould  be  permitted  only  after  plans  have  been  filed  and  approved. 
Fire  drills  in  factories  should  be  made  mandatory  once  a  month. 
It  is  entirely  practicable  to  compel  the  installation  of  co-operative 


672  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

drill  for  the  employees  of  different  manufacturing  establishments 
In  the  same  building.  The  plan  adopted  would  have  to  depend 
on  the  building  and  its  occupancy.  Fire  drills  for  separate 
establishments  would  not  have  so  much  value  as  the  co-operative 
drills.  The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  depend 
on  the  height  and  occupancy  of  buildings.  It  should  be  partly 
regulated  by  the  character  of  the  industry,  the  number  of  persons 
employed,  the  distance  of  the  establishment  above  the  street  level, 
and  the  height  of  the  building  in  which  the  establishment  is 
located.  The  mandatory  installation  of  auxiliary  fire-alarm 
systems  should  depend  on  the  nature  of  the  building  and  its 
occupancy.  The  operation  of  such  a  system  is  a  matter  of  drill 
and  detail. 

Locking  doors  when  employees  are  on  the  premises  should  be 
made  a  felony,  as  it  is  a  restraint  on  a  person's  liberty.  Meas- 
ures for  providing  for  proper  spacing  of  machinery  depend  on 
the  nature  of  the  business.  The  law  should  generally  prohibit 
the  use  of  any  doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to 
exits  or  fire-escapes.  The  law  should  prohibit  the  obstruction 
of  the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills,  and  the  fire-escapes 
should  be  built  at  or  about  the  floor  level.  Generally  there  should 
be  a  standard  of  construction  of  outside  fire-escapes,  but  it  should 
be  subject  to  special  modifications.  From  the  lowest  balcony  to 
the  ground  there  should  be  a  stairway  balanced  by  a  counter- 
weight. The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory 
should  generally  depend  on  the  number  and  kind  of  exits,  but  it 
should  depend  somewhat  on  construction  of  the  building  and  the 
auxiliary  fire  appliances  Such  a  provision  would  have  to  be 
largely  discretionary.  Every  manufacturing  establishment  should 
have  a  card  posted  showing  the  maximum  number  of  people  per- 
mitted to  work  there.  Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  gener- 
ally be  licensed  for  certain  designated  occupations. 

Stairways  winding  around  elevator  shafts  need  not  be  ordered 
removed  from  existing  buildings.  The  enclosing  of  existing  elevator 
shafts  and  stairways  in  fireproof  walls,  and  the  installation  of  fire 
walls,  depend  on  the  construction  of  the  building  and  its  occupancy. 
Fire  towers  should  be  ordered  in  buildings  where  dangerous 
conditions  exist.  To  secure  adequate  fire-escapes  in  buildings  to 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  673 

be  constructed  in  future,  the  Fire  Department  should  pass  on 
plans  of  exit.  I  have  no  criticism  to  make  of  the  recent  Sullivan- 
Hoey  law,  nor  any  changes  to  recommend. 

Charles  H.  Reyes: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  a  factory  or  manufacturing  estab- 
lishment during  working  hours  should  be  made  a  punishable 
offense.  Wooden  and  non-fireproof  partitions  in  any  part  of  a 
large  factory  or  manufacturing  establishment  above  the  fourth 
floor  should  be  prohibited. 

(a)  Sprinkler      systems,  fire      walls,     fire     extinguishers, 
scrupulous     cleanliness    arid  constant    oversight    by    somebody 
charged  with  such  work  can  all  be  used  to  prevent  the  spread 
of  fire. 

(b)  Some  standard  means  of  indicating  the  doors  and  win- 
dows leading  to  fire-escapes  should  be  agreed  upon,  and  probably 
the  red  danger  signal  should  show  in  the  door  frames  and  window 
sashes  as  well  as  in  the  enclosures  of  the  lights  which  mark  them 
at  night. 

(c)  Metal  sash  is  an  essential  part  of  a  fire-proof  trim. 

(d)  Windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  should  not  be  made  of 
wired  glass.     Changes  in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments which  in  any  way  enhance  the  character  of  the  hazard 
should  be  permitted  only  after  the  filing  of  plans  which  have 
been  approved  by  the  proper  authority. 

It  would  be  sufficient  if  fire  drills  would  be  enforced  in  manu- 
facturing establishments  employing  many  people  and  especially 
where  business  is  carried  on  in  tall  buildings.  Much  facility 
could  be  secured  and  time  saved  if  practice  in  the  going  out  by 
fire  drill  routes  could  be  given  through  dismissing  the  employees 
over  these  routes  on  certain  evenings,  the  fire  alarm  signal  being 
given  at  the  close  of  the  day. 

With  many  different    manufacturing    establishments    in    the 
same  building  it  is  probable  that  the  drill  would  have  to  be  in 
charge  of  a  representative  of  the  Fire  Prevention  Department,  to 
insure  its  success. 
22 


674  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Separate  and  independent  fire  drills  for  different  manufactur- 
ing establishments  in  one  building  would  be  valueless  unless  each 
particular  establishment  had  its  own  exits  and  in  no  way  would 
interfere  with  those  coming  or  going  to  or  from  other  factories. 

The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  be  made  man- 
datory in  all  factories  dealing  with  inflammable  material  and 
especially  where  such  manufacturing  is  carried  on  above  the 
fourth  floor. 

The  mandatory  requirement  of  automatic  sprinklers  would 
depend  upon  the  degree  of  risk  involved  in  any  industry,  upon 
the  number  of  persons  exposed  to  the  hazard,  the  distance  of 
the  work  above  the  street  level,  the  height  and  character  of  the 
building  in  which  the  establishment  is  located. 

As  buildings  have  been  constructed  in  the  past,  probably  very 
much  more  good  than  harm  could  be  done  by  prohibiting  manu- 
facturing above  the  sixth  floor.  With  fire-proof  buildings,  con- 
taining adequate  exits  each  including  genercii.s  stairways,  self- 
contained  elevators  and  Philadelphia  fire  tower?,  together  with 
proper  fire  walls  dividing  the  floor  space  into  several  areas,  it  is 
possible  to  carry  on  manufacturing  with  safety  at  double  that 
height. 

The  maintaining  of  locked  doors  of  manufacturing  establish- 
ments while  there  are  employees  on  the  premises  needs  to  be 
punished  by  both  fine  and  imprisonment. 

Machinery  should  be  so  placed  as  to  leave  clear  passageways 
to  all  exits  and  fire-escapes. 

There  is  no  possible  excuse  for  permitting  door?  or  shutters 
leading  to  exits  or  fire-escapes  to  open  inwardly. 

The  law  should  also  prohibit  the  obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire 
escapes  by  window  sills. 

There  should  be  a  prescription  that  the  openings  should  be 
brought  down  to  about  the  level  of  the  floor  at  fire-escapes. 

In  all  cases  of  outside  fire-escapes  added  safety  would  be  pro- 
vided if  their  construction  could  be  standardized. 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  any  factory  should 
certainly  be  limited  upon  the  number  and  character  of  the  exits 
provided. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  675 

The  minimum  standard  of  safety  which  it  is  desirable  to  toler- 
ate should  be  prescribed  in  the  law,  bait  some  responsible  au- 
thority should  be  given  power  for  making  this  requirement  more 
stringent  in  the  case  of  particularly  hazardous  establishments. 

It  would  certainly  contribute  to  the  ready  enforcement  of  the 
law  if  every  manufacturing  establishment  were  required  to  keep 
a  large  card  posted  on  each  floor  showing  maximum  number  of 
people  permitted  to  work  on  that  floor. 

New  license  should  be  required  whenever  a  change  of  use 
occurs.  Registration  or  license  should  be  renewed  when  either 
change  of  location  or  change  of  the  character  of  the  business 
takes  place. 

Stairways  that  wind  around  elevators  should  not  be  permitted 
to  count  as  exits  in  addition  to  the  elevators. 

Whenever  possible  the  stairways  should  be  enclosed  in  the 
fire-proof  walls. 

No  new  buildings  should  be  erected  which  do  not  break  into 
comparatively  small  fire  units  all  the  floor  space.  It  might  be 
highly  desirable  to  divide  a  25  x  80  floor  into  two  units,  a  50  x  80 
into  four,  and  a  75  x  80  into  six ;  but  it  is  a  question  whether  in 
many  instances  such  division  would  be  entirely  feasible. 

Very  tall  buildings  involving  specially  hazardous  lines  of 
manufacturing  should  atford  every  possible  means  for  the  safety 
of  inmates  in  case  of  fire  or  panic.  If  in  any  particular  instance 
this  cannot  be  accomplished  without  the  fire  tower,  such  installa- 
tion should  certainly  be  ordered. 

The  conference  committee  of  architects,  engineers  and  builders 
which  were  in  session  with  the  city  officials  and  committees 
representing  the  city  government,  reached  a  practical  agreement 
on  every  item  of  the  Building  Code  with  the  exception  of  eight. 
All  eight  of  these  items  bore  upon  the  seemingly  irreconcilable 
conflict  between  hollow  tile  and  concrete  interests. 

The  law  has  been  in  operation  altogether  too  brief  a  period 
to  warrant  adverse  criticism.  It  is  manifest  that  this  law  fur- 
nishes large  opportunity  for  desired  fire  protection. 


676  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Eugene  L.  Lezinsky: 

We  are  in  favor  of  a  law  making  smoking  in  factories  during 
working  hours  a  crime,  but  we  have  great  doubts  as  to  its  possible 
enforcement. 

We  favor  fireproof  sliding  doors  which  we  could  consider  better 
than  either  doors  opening  in  or  out. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

A  law  making  smoking  in  factories  during  working  hours  a 
crime  could  not  be  enforced.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof 
partitions  in  any  part  of  a  manufacturing  establishment  should 
be  prohibited. 

Fire  drills  should  be  made  mandatory  in  manufacturing  estab- 
lishments as  often  as  necessary  to  give  operatives  the  training 
required,  and  the  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  be 
made  mandatory  in  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments. 
A  fire-alarm  system  should  be  installed  in  every  manufacturing 
establishment.  Manufacturing  should  be  prohibited  at  least  above 
the  tenth  floor. 

Locked  doors  should  be  made  a  misdemeanor  with  a  maximum 
penalty.  The  clear  passageway  between  machines  should  be  at 
least  three  feet.  The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any 
doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes. 
Obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills  should  be 
prohibited,  and  fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the 
floor  level  of  the  factory.  There  should  be  a  standard  of  construc- 
tion for  outside  fire-escapes.  From  the  lowest  balcony  to  the  ground 
I  would  recommend  the  kind  of  stairway  which  drops  automatically 
as  the  person  steps  on  it. 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  should 
depend  upon  the  number  and  kind  of  exits.  This  provision  should 
be  made  specific.  Every  manufacturing  establishment  and  every 
room  in  that  manufacturing  establishment  should  have  a  card 
posted  showing  the  maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to  work 
there. 

Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  be  licensed  for  certain  occu- 
pations, and  changes  in  the  nature  of  occupancy  should  not  be 
prohibited  unless  authorized. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  677 

Existing  stairways  winding  around  elevators  should  be  ordered 
removed,  and  existing  stairways  and  elevator  shafts  should  be 
ordered  enclosed  in  fire-proof  walls.  Fire  towers  should  be  ordered 
installed  in  existing  buildings  in  which  horizontal  exits  are  not 
possible. 

To  secure  adequate  fire-escapes  in  future  buildings,  each  build- 
ing will  have  to  be  taken  up  individually  and  a  ratio  established 
between  the  number  of  occupants  and  the  fire  exits. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  in  factories  should 
be  forbidden  where  there  is  inflammable  material.  The  fire  walls 
can  be  installed  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  because  of  inflam- 
mable material. 

Doors  and  window  sashes  leading  to  exits  should  be  painted  red, 
and  such  sashes  should  be  made  of  metal. 

Changes  in  the  interior  of  a  manufacturing  establishment,  when 
there  is  a  change  of  occupancy,  should  be  permitted  only  after 
plans  are  filed  and  approved.  Fire  drills  should  be  made  mandatory 
once  a  month.  It  is  practicable  to  compel  the  installation  of  the  co- 
operative fire  drill.  The  mandatory  requirement  of  automatic 
sprinklers  should  depend  upon  the  character  of  the  industry,  the 
number  of  persons  employed  in  the  establishment,  the  distance 
of  the  establishment  above  the  street  level,  and  upon  the  height 
of  the  building  in  which  the  establishment  is  located,  irrespective 
of  the  number  of  employers  in  the  particular  establishment. 

Locked  doors  in  a  factory  should  be  made  a  felony.  Laws 
should  prohibit  absolutely  the  use  of  doors  or  shutters  opening 
inwardly  leading  to  fire-escapes  or  exits,  and  the  obstruction  of 
the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  Outside  fire-escapes 
should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level  of  the  factory. 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  should 
depend  upon  the  numl^er  and  kind  of  exits  provided.  Every 
manufacturing  establishment  should  post  a  card  showing  the 
maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  there.  Factories 
and  loft  buildings  should  be  licensed  for  certain  designated  oc- 
cupations, and  changes  should  be  made  only  when  expressly 
authorized. 


678  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Stairways  that  wind  around  elevators  should  be  ordered  re- 
moved in  existing  buil-iirgs,  unless  the  elevators  be  made  fire- 
proof. To  secure  adequate  fire-escape  exits  in  future  buildings, 
fire  towers,  fire  walls  and  enclosed  stairways  should  be  provided. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  the  factory  during  working  hours 
should  be  made  a  crime.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof 
partitions  in  any  part  of  a  factory  should  be  prohibited. 

To  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  because  of  inflammable  material 
used  in  manufacture,  there  should  be  stringent  rules  against  the 
accumulation  of  litter  on  floors  or  work  tables,  and  within  con- 
venient reach,  boxes  of  sand  should  be  kept  on  hand.  Doors  and 
sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  should  be  painted  red,  such 
sashes  should  be  of  metal,  and  windows  leading  to  fire-escapes 
should  be  of  wired  glass. 

Changes  in  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments  should 
be  permitted  only  after  the  filing  and  approval  of  plans.  The 
installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  undoubtedly  be  made 
mandatory. 

The  penalty  for  locked  doors  in  a  factory  while  employees  are 
on  the  premises  should  be  imprisonment  in  the  penitentiary  for 
five  or  ten  years.  The  Liw  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of 
doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly.  The  law  should  prohibit  the 
obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills,  and  outside 
fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level  of 
the  factory.  The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  fac- 
tory should  undoubtedly  depend  upon  the  number  and  kind  of 
exits  provided.  I  am  in  favor  of  making  this  a  specific  provision. 

I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  licensing  factories  and  Joft  buildings 
for  certain  designated  occupations  and  forbidding  any  change 
unless  expressly  authorized. 

Existing  elevator  shafts  and  stairways  should  be  ordered  en- 
closed in  fireproof  walls.  Fire  walls  should  be  installed  in  all 
existing  buildings. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  679 

/.  P.  Quigley: 

Smoking  in  factories  during  working  hours  should  be  pro- 
hibited by  law.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions 
thould  depend  upon  the  location  of  the  factory  and  its  inflam- 
mable nature.  In  order  to  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  because  of 
inflammable  material,  there  should  be  smaller  areas  with  open- 
ings guarded  by  fire  doors.  It  would,  perhaps,  be  a  good  idea  to 
paint  the  doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  red. 
Sashes  should  be  metal.  Unless  the  entire  building  were  trimmed 
with  wired  glass,  I  think  it  would  be  unnecessary  to  use  it  in 
windows  leading  to  fire-escapes.  All  factories  above  three  stories 
in  height  should  have  a  fire-alarm  system.  They  could  be  worked 
out  satisfactorily  in  loft  buildings.  All  factories  that  have  a  fire- 
alarm  system  should  be  connected  with  Fire  Headquarters.  In 
well-regulated  factory  buildings,  with  ample  exits  and  stairways, 
I  think  the  height  might  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  the  manu- 
facturer. Nothing  short  of  a  severe  penalty  will  prevent  the 
locking  of  doors  in  factories,  and  it  might  be  well  to  have  a  large 
percentage  of  that  penalty  paid  to  the  one  who  reports  the 
violation. 

The  law  should  prohibit  the  use  of  any  door  or  shutter  opening 
inwardly,  but  I  am  not  so  sure  as  to  a  fire-escape.  Fire-escapes 
should  be  no  higher  than  the  floor  level.  Windows  leading  to 
fire-escapes  should  be  made  into  doors.  Outside  fire  escapes  are 
at  best  nothing  more  than  a  last  resort,  but  they  should  in  any 
event  be  on  an  incline  with  easy  risers  and  w:de  treads  guarded 
with  hand  rails  on  each  side,  and  on  each  floor  there  should  be 
a  large  balcony.  The  lower  balcony  should  be  at  least  twice  the 
capacity  of  those  above  ic,  with  a  stairway  hinged  and  hanging 
or  a  counterweight  which  will  easily  drop  when  a  person  steps 
upon  the  tread.  The  number  and  kind  of  exits  should  depend  on 
the  number  of  people  vxrklng  in  a  factory  above  the  ground  floor. 
This  provision  should  be  left  to  the  discretion  of  a  responsible 
authority. 

Every  industry  should  be  reported  to  some  certain  authority. 
Whether  a  license  should  be  demanded  is  perhaps  another  matter. 

If  there  is  but  one  stairway  loading  to  the  upper  floors  of  a 
building  it  should  nor  wind  around  elevator  shafts.  Existing 


680  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

stairways  should  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls,  and  fire 
walls  should  be  ordered  installed  in  existing  buildings.  This  can 
well  be  ordered  under  a  comprehensive  building  code. 

In  future  buildings  adequate  fire-escape  exits  can  be  secured 
by  ordering  wide  and  ample  stairways  enclosed  in  brick  towers. 

J.  F.  Reagan: 

Smoking  in  factories  during  working  hours  shoud  be  made  a 
crime.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  in  any  part 
of  the  factory  should  be  prohibited.  The  installation  of  automatic 
sprinklers  should  be  made  mandatory  in  all  factories.  The  law 
should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  doors  or  shutters  opening 
inwardly  which  lead  to  fire-escapes  or  exits.  Outside  fire-escapes 
should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level  of  a  factory. 
Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  be  licensed  for  certain  desig- 
nated occupations,  and  any  change  should  be  prohibited  unless 
authorized. 

Ladders  or  stairways  from  the  lowest  balcony  to  the  ground 
should  be  the  balanced  stairway  type  with  two  hand  rails.  Many 
of  the  existing  elevator  shafts  and  stairways  should  be  enclosed 
in  fireproof  walls,  if  not  all  of  them.  Fire  walls  should  be  or- 
dered in  buildings  of  50  by  80  feet  or  larger. 

To  secure  adequate  fire-escape  exits  in  future  buildings,  stairs 
with  fireproof  walls  should  be  required. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Smoking  should  be  prohibited  in  factories  during  working 
hours.  Changes  in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments 
should  be  permitted  only  after  plans  have  been  filed  and  approved. 
Fire  drills  should  be  mandatory  once  a  month.  The  law  should 
absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  door  or  shutters  opening  in- 
wardly that  lead  to  fire-escapes  or  exits,  and  the  obstruction  of 
the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  Outside  fire-escapes  should 
be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level  of  the  factory,  and  there 
should  be  a  standard  of  construction  for  all  outside  fire-escapes. 
Every  manufacturing  establishment  should  have  a  card  posted 
showing  the  maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  it. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  681 

W.  G.  Sewall: 

The  Standard  Automatic  Sprinkler  Equipment  solves  the 
problem  of  safeguarding  life  and  property  in  our  factories.  It 
is  expensive,  but  it  is  worth  while.  It  will  pay  for  itself  ordi- 
narily in  from  three  to  five  years  in  the  savings  of  fire  insurance 
premiums. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

In  certain  kinds  of  factories  smoking  should  be  made  a  crime 
and  the  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  should  be  pro- 
hibited; in  others,  decidedly  not.  To  prevent  the  spread  of 
fire  because  of  inflammable  material,  the  use  of  fireproof  recep- 
tacles should  be  required.  It  is  not  always  advisable  that  the  doors 
and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  should  be  painted  red, 
that  such  sashes  should  be  of  metal,  or  that  windows  leading  to 
fire-escapes  be  made  of  wired  glass. 

It  is  not  necessary  ihat  a  change  in  the  interior  of  manufac- 
turing establishments  be  permitted  only  after  plans  have  been 
approved.  The  Fire  Department  should  be  given  power  to  con- 
duct fire  drills.  It  is  entirely  practicable  to  compel  the  installation 
of  co-operative  fire  drill,  if  conducted  by  government  officials  with 
power.  In  buildings  with  several  or  more  establishments,  sepa- 
rate and  independent  fire  drills  would  have  very  little  value.  The 
installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  not  be  made  manda- 
tory in  all  factories.  It  should  depend  upon  less  arbitrary  and 
more  elastic  conditions,  to  be  laid  down  by  the  Fire  Department 
or  by  a  board  of  technical  experts.  This  also  applies  to  the  re- 
quirement of  an  auxiliary  fire-alarm  system  connected  with  Fire 
Headquarters  in  factor?  es  and  manufacturing  establishments. 
Manufacturing  above  a  certain  number  of  stories  should  not  be 
prohibited.  The  penalty  for  locked  doors  while  employees  are 
on  the  premises  should  depend  upon  what  doors  are  locked,  and 
who  locks  them. 

The  proper  spacing  of  machinery,  the  prohibition  of  doors  or 
shutters  opening  inwardly,  and  the  obstruction  of  exits  to  fire- 
escapes  by  window  sill?,  should  be  left  to  a  board  of  technical 
experts.  It  is  not  necessary  that  fire-escapes  be  constructed  at  or 


682  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

ebout  floor  level  of  the  factory,  except  where  large  numbers  are 
employed.  No  common  standard  of  outside  fire-escapes  will  fit 
all  conditions.  The  kind  of  ladders  or  stairs  from  the  lowest 
balcony  to  the  ground  should  be  left  to  a  board  of  technical  ex- 
perts. The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory 
should  depend  upon  the  number  and  kind  of  exits  provided.  This 
provision  should  be  left  to  a  board  of  technical  experts. 

Every  establishment  of  a  tenant  factory  should  have  a  card 
posted  showing  the  maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to 
work  there.  It  seems  to  me  sufficient  to  license  the  establishment 
and  forbid  any  change  in  such  establishment  without  a  license. 
Stairways  that  wind  around  elevator  shafts  in  existing  buildings 
should  not  be  ordered  removed,  unless  they  are  the  sole  stairways 
in  the  building.  Existing  elevator  shafts  should  not  be  ordered 
enclosed  in  fireproof  walls.  The  installation  of  fire  walls  in  ex- 
isting building  should  be  left  to  the  board  of  technical  experts  or 
the  Fire  Department, —  as  also  should  the  requirement  of  the  fire 
towers,  and  provisions  to  secure  adequate  fire-escape  exits  in  build- 
ings to  be  constructed  in  the  future.  The  present  building  code 
should  be  entirely  re-framed. 

J.  "Waldo  Smith: 

The  use  of  automatic1  sprinklers  should  be  required  in  prac- 
tically every  manufacturing  establishment  where  materials  of  a 
combustible  nature  are  either  stored  or  worked,  as  well  as  in  all 
manufacturing  establishments  which  are  not  absolutely  fireproof 
in  their  construction. 

D.  J.  Sullivan: 

Smoking  in  any  part  of  a  factory  during  working  hours  should 
be  made  a  crime  and  the  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions 
should  be  prohibited.  In  order  to  prevent  thy  spread  of  fire  be- 
cause of  inflammable  material  used,  the  sprinkler  system  should 
be  installed.  Doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  should 
be  painted  red,  such  sashes  should  be  made  of  metal,  and  windows 
leading  to  fire-escapes  should  be  made  of  wired  glass.  No  change 
in  the  interior  of  a  manufacturing  establishment  should  be  per- 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  683 

niitted  until  the  plans  have  been  filed  and  approved.  Fire  drills 
should  be  mandatory  at  least  once  in  every  tvvo  weeks.  Separate 
and  independent  fire  drills  for  different  manufacturing  establish- 
ments in  one  building  would  have  no  value. 

The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  and  auxiliary  fire- 
alarm  systems  connected  with  Fire  Headquarters  should  be  made 
mandatory  in  all  manufacturing  establishments. 

The  penalty  for  locked  doors  in  a  factory  while  employees  are 
on  the  premises  should  be  imprisonment. 

The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  doors  or 
shutters  opening  inwardly  which  lead  to  fire-escapes  or  exits.  The 
law  should  prohibit  the  obstruction  of  the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by 
window  sills.  Fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the 
floor  level  of  the  factory,  and  there  should  be  a  standard  of  con- 
struction of  outside  fire-escapes.  From  the  lowest  balcony  to  the 
ground  there  should  be  a  cantilever  stairway.  The  number  of 
people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  should  depend  upon  the 
number  and  kind  of  exits  provided.  Every  manufacturing  es- 
tablishment should  have  a  card  posted  showing  the  maximum 
number  of  people  permitted  to  work  there.  Stairways  that  wind 
around  elevators  should  be  ordered  removed  in  existing  buildings, 
and  stairways  and  elevator  shafts  should  be  enclosed  in  fireproof 
walls.  Fire  walls  should  be  ordered  in  existing  buildings  75 
by  80  feet,  or  larger. 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

Smoking  should  be  prohibited  in  factories  and  the  penalty  should 
be  severe.  The  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  in  any 
part  of  a  factory  should  be  prohibited.  Doors  and  sashes  of 
windows  leading  to  exits  .should  be  painted  red,  such  sashes  should 
be  of  metal,  and  windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  should  be  made 
of  wired  glass.  No  cnar.ge  should  be  permitted  in  any  manufac- 
turing establishment  vithout  the  approval  of  the  proper  authori- 
ties. Fire  drills  should  be  made  mandatory  once  a  month.  The 
penalty  for  locked  doors  in  factories  while  employees  are  on  the 
premises  should  be  death. 

Machines  shrould  be  so  arranged  that  there  should  be  clear 
passageways  of  two  feet  between  the  people  operating  them. 


684:  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  doors  or 
shutters  opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  fire-escapes  or  exits,  and 
the  obstruction  of  the  exits  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  Out- 
side fire-escapes  should  be  constructed  at  or  about  the  floor  level 
of  a  factory,  and  there  should  be  a  standard  of  construction  for 
outside  fire-escapes.  From  the  lowest  balcony  to  the  ground  there 
should  be  a  regular  stairway  5  feet  wide  with  7-inch  tread. 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  should 
depend  on  the  number  and  kind  of  exits,  and  this  provision  should 
be  left  to  the  Factory  Commissioner.  Every  manufacturing  es- 
tablishment should  ha^e  a  card  posted  showing  the  maximum 
number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  it,  and  the  name  of  the 
employer.  It  is  most  important  that  factories  should  be  licensed 
for  certain  designated  occupations  and  that  changes  in  the  nature 
of  occupancy  should  be  prohibited  unless  expressly  authorized. 
Fire  walls  should  be  ordered  installed  in  all  existing  buildings. 

F.  H.  Wentworth: 

Smoking  should  be  prohibited  in  factories  during  working 
hours  or  at  amy  time,  except  in  smoking  or  rest  rooms  definitely  set 
aside  for  this  purpose.  This  should  be  a  misdemeanor  rather  than 
a  crime  although  I  am  open  to  conviction  that  this  should  be  made 
a  crime. 

All  partitions  should  be  made  of  the  non-combustible  materials 
now  available. 

To  prevent  spread  of  fire  because  of  inflammable  material  used 
in  manufacture,  divide  floor  areas  as  much  as  possible  and  equip 
pll  rooms  with  automatic  sprinklers  and  other  fire  extinguishing 
devices.  Employees  should  familiarize  themselves  with  the  loca- 
tion of  exits.  Sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  should  be  of 
metal,  and  windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  should  be  of  wired 
glass.  Any  change  in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments 
should  be  made  only  after  the  approval  of  plans. 

Fire  drills  should  be  made  mandatory.  At  the  beginning  re- 
hearsals should  be  more  frequent  than  after  the  drill  is  well 
learned.  A  co-operative  drill  is  certainly  desirable  and  not  nec- 
essarily impracticable.  The  plan  would  have  to  rest  with  the 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  685 

city  official  who  would  take  the  initiative,  inaugurate  the  drills 
and  conduct  or  superintend  their  initial  operation.  Separate  and 
independent  fire  drills  for  manufacturing  establishments  in  the 
same  building  would  not  have  very  much  value,  as  employees  of 
the  different  establishments  would  encounter  one  another  upon 
the  stairs  and  exits  and  no  set  would  give  precedence  to  the  other 
without  previous  co-operative  consent.  The  installation  of  au- 
tomatic sprinklers  should  decidedly  be  made  mandatory.  All 
factories  should  be  so  equipped  irrespective  of  the  character  of 
the  industry,  number  of  persons  employed  or  location  of  factory. 
Auxiliary  fire-alarm  systems  should  be  worked  out  and  operated 
in  connection  with  the  system  of  fire  drills.  It  would  be  better 
to  notify  by  messenger. 

A  fire  drill  is  imperative  where  a  general  fire-alarm  system  is 
operated. 

Where  there  is  no  equipment  of  automatic  sprinklers  the  auto- 
matic fire-alarm  equipment  is  the  next  most  desirable  agent. 

Manufacturing  should  be  prohibited  above  the  sixth  story. 

The  penalty  for  locked  doors  in  a  factory  should  be  heavy 
fines  or  imprisonment,  or  both. 

There  should  be  a  clearance  of  four  feet  in  aisles  and  two  and 
one-half  feet  between  machines  placed  in  rows.  The  law  should 
absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of  any  doors  or  shutters  opening  in- 
wardly that  lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes,  and  the  obstruction  of 
exits  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  I  believe  that  the  outside 
fire-escape  is  practically  useless.  The  number  of  people  per- 
mitted to  work  in  a  factory  should  depend  upon  the  number  and 
kind  of  exits  provided.  This  provision  should  be  left  to  a  prop- 
erly constituted  authority.  Every  manufacturing  establishment 
should  have  a  card  posted  showing  the  maximum  number  of  peo- 
ple permitted  to  work  in  it.  The  manufacture  of  devices  using 
especially  inflammable  materials  should  be  limited  to  designated 
locations.  Existing  stairways  that  wind  around  elevators  should 
be  ordered  removed,  existing  elevator  shafts  and  stairways  should 
be  ordered  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls,  and  in  buildings  50  by  80 
feet,  and  larger,  dividing  fire  walls  should  be  installed. 

I  believe  the  fire  tower  to  be  the  only  suitable  fire-escape  and 
that  it  should  be  ordered  in  all  buildings  in  which  a  large  number 


686  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

of  persons  are  employed.  In  factories  of  moderate  size  and  oc- 
cupancy the  stairway  enclosed  in  fireproof  wall  might  be  sufficient. 

Elevator  shafts  and  stairways  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls,  fire 
towers  in  large  buildings  with  many  occupants,  and  where  the 
processes  are  hazardous  or  quick-burning  or  inflammable  mate- 
rial is  used,  floors  should  be  divided  by  fireproof  partitions. 

It  would  be  well  for  New  York  State  to  adopt  a  modern  Build- 
ing Code,  following  the  recent  example  of  the  State  of  Ohio. 

H.  B.  Woolston: 

Buildings  erected  for  one  purpose  should  not  be  used  for  dif- 
ferent kinds  of  work  or  occupancy  without  most  stringent  over- 
hauling by  one  competent  authority. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

Smoking  in  factories  during  business  hours  should  be  prohibited, 
and  the  use  of  wooden  or  non-fireproof  partitions  should  be  pro- 
hibited. The  doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  exits  should 
be  painted  red,  such  sashes  should  be  of  metal,  and  windows 
leading  to  fire-escapes  should  be  of  wired  glass.  Fire  drills  should 
be  made  mandatory  in  all  manufacturing  establishments  and  the 
installation  of  a  so-called  co-operative  drill  for  the  employees  of 
different  establishments  in  the  same  building  is  practicable  with 
proper  organization  under  the  Fire  Chief  of  a  city.  Separate  and 
independent  fire  drills  for  different  establishments  in  one  build- 
ing would  have  no  value.  The  installation  of  automatic  sprink- 
lers should  be  made  mandatory  in  all  factory  buildings,  regard- 
less of  the  character  of  the  industry,  the  number  of  persons  em- 
ployed, or  the  distance  of  the  establishment  above  the  street  level. 
In  hazardous  trades  the  installation  of  an  auxiliary  fire-alarm 
system  should  be  made  mandatory.  Such  a  system  can  be  operated 
practically  in  a  loft  building  by  gongs  automatically  worked  in 
hallways.  In  factories  engaged  in  hazardous  trades,  such  system 
ought  to  communicate  with  Fire  Headquarters.  Manufacturing 
above  a  certain  number  of  stories  should  be  prohibited.  The 
penalty  for  locked  doors  while  employees  are  on  the  premises 
should  be  imprisonment  for  life. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  687 

The  clear  passageway  between  machines  should  be  sufficient 
to  avoid  danger.  The  law  should  absolutely  prohibit  the  use  of 
any  doors  or  shutters  opening  inwardly,  and  the  obstruction  of 
exits  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  Fire-escapes  should  be  con- 
structed at  the  floor  level  of  factory.  There  should  be  a  standard 
of  construction  for  outside  fire-escapes.  There  should  be  station- 
ary stairways  from  lowest  balcony  to  ground. 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  should 
depend  upon  the  number  and  kind  of  exits  provided.  This  re- 
quirement should  be  made  specific. 

Every  manufacturing  establishment  should  have  a  card  posted 
Chewing  the  maximum  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  it, 
and  anyone  reporting  excess  should  be  immune  from  punishment 
bj  the  firm.  Stairways  winding  around  elevators  in  existing 
h.nldings  should  be  ordered  removed,  and  existing  elevator  shafts 
•and  stairways  should  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls,  and 
fire  walls  installed  in  existing  buildings  25  by  80  feet,  or  larger. 
Fire  towers  should  be  ordered  in  existing  buildings  of  three  stories 
or  over. 

H.  R.  Yates: 

Smoking  should  not  be  permitted  during  working  hours  in  any 
part  of  a  factory  unless  there  is  a  room  for  that  purpose  and 
then  the  room  should  be  so  constructed  as  to  contain  concrete 
floors,  concrete  or  brick  walls  and  nothing  of  inflammable  nature. 
Non-fireproof  partitions  should  not  be  permitted  and  all  doors 
between  partitions  should  be  of  fireproof  construction  and  when 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  same  open  should  automatically  close  in 
case  of  fire. 

To  prevent  the  spread  of  fire  the  following: 

Metal  cans  with  covers  for  all  inflammable  rubbish  and  rags. 
An  up-to-date  sprinkling  system. 
A  sufficient  number  of  extinguishers. 
Pails  of  sand. 
Cleanliness. 

Doors  and  sashes  of  windows  should  be  painted  red  as  well 
as  signs  over  doors  and  exits. 


688  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Sashes  of  metal  would  be  of  some  assistance. 

The  frame  should  be  of  metal  and  the  glass  of  wired  glass. 

Changes  in  the  interior  of  manufacturing  establishments  should 
only  be  permitted  by  approval  of  the  proper  authorities. 

Fire  drills  wherever  explosive  and  inflammable  materials  are 
kept  should  be  held  at  least  once  a  month.  In  other  places  they 
would  be  a  detriment  not  only  to  the  pieceworkers,  but  to  the 
manufacturer  as  well. 

Drills  should  be  held  directly  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
owner  or  lessee.  Separately  conducted  drills  held  would  be  a 
confusion  of  responsibilities. 

Installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  be  made  mandatory 
in  all  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments. 

The  installation  of  automatic  sprinklers  should  depend  upon 
the  character  of  the  industry,  the  number  of  persons  employed 
in  the  establishment,  and  the  distance  of  the  establishment  above- 
the  street  level. 

Independent  fire-alarm  systems  should  be  installed  in  such 
buildings  over  a  number  of  stories  in  height  and  where  inflam- 
mable material  is  kept  and  stored,  especially  in  places  where 
females  and  children  are  employed. 

An  alarm-box  can  easily  be  installed  on  the  floor  of  a  building 
that  when  operated  would  sound  a  vibrating  gong  in  the  loft  and 
throughout  the  entire  building. 

Automatic  fire-alarm  systems  connected  with  thermostats  to 
sprinklers  have  never  proven  satisfactory. 

Locked  doors  in  factories  while  employees  are  on  the  premises 
should  be  a  misdemeanor. 

The  proper  spacing  of  machinery  depends  on  conditions.  It 
should  be  a  misdemeanor  to  permit  the  use  of  doors  or  shutters 
opening  inwardly  that  lead  to  exits  or  fire-escapes,  and  to  ob- 
struct the  exit  to  fire-escapes  by  window  sills.  It  should  not  be 
necessary  to  climb  over  a  window  sill  in  order  to  reach  an  exit. 
It  is  impossible  to  have  a  standard  of  construction  for  outside 
fire-escapes.  From  the  lowest  balcony  to  the  ground  there  should 
be  an  iron  stairway  with  proper  hand  rail. 

The  number  of  exits  should  depend  upon  the  number  of  per- 
sons employed  on  each  f oor.  This  would  have  to  be  left  to  the 
proper  authorities. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  689 

There  should  be  a  card  posted  showing  the  maximum  number 
of  persons  allowed  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  exits  and 
when  violated  should  be  considered  a  misdemeanor. 

Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  by  all  means  be  licensed 
for  certain  designated  occupations,  and  changes  in  the  nature  of 
the  occupancy  should  be  prohibited  unless  expressly  author- 
ized. Stairways  around  elevator  shafts  should  be  removed  unless 
the  elevator  shaft  is  of  fireproof  construction.  Existing  elevator 
shafts  should  be  ordered  enclosed  in  fireproof  walls.  If  there  are 
proper  fireproof  exits  it  would  seem  an  unnecessary  expense  to 
order  the  enclosing  of  existing  stairways  in  fireproof  walls.  The 
installation  of  fire  walls  and  fire  towers  in  existing  buildings 
depends  on  the  construction  of  the  building.  Before  being  built 
a  permit  should  be  issued  only  for  fireproof  walls.  Fire  towers 
should  depend  on  the  material  kept  in  buildings. 

All  buildings  over  two  stories  in  height  when  occupied  for  any 
purpose  except  as  a  private  residence  should  be  provided  with 
proper  stairways  and  fire-escapes. 

MANUFACTURING  IN  TENEMENT  HOUSES. 
8.  M.  Dix: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  'should  be  restricted  by 
penalty  on  owner.  To  prevent  such  employment,  owners  should 
be  made  responsible  under  penalty 

Dr.  George  W.  Gol&r: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  absolutely  pro- 
hibited. Where  young  children  are  found  to  work  for  a  manu- 
facturer at  home,  under  a  license  system  for  the  factory,  this 
should  be  sufficient  for  the  revocation  of  the  license. 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  would  absolutely  prohibit  manufacturing  in  tenement  houses, 
but  if  a  custom  tailor  takes  out  two  or  three  coats  from  a  store 
they  should  have  absolutely  separate  rooms  and  those  rooms  be 
investigated  by  inspectors  before  a  license  is  issued. 


690  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

A.  S.  Haight: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  forbidden  abso- 
lutely for  anything  more  than  a  sewing  machine  used  by  families. 


Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  prohibited. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  prohibited. 

Dr.  Delancey  Rochester: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  prohibited  en- 
tirely, especially  the  manufacturing  of  food  stuffs. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

Manufacturing  in  tenements  should  be  restricted  as  it  is.  Young 
children  are  considerably  illegally  employed  in  manufacturing 
conducted  in  tenement  houses  in  the  lowest  grade  of  work,  but  in 
the  mass  very  little.  Such  employment  cannot  be  prevented  with- 
out serious  oppression  and  harm. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  should  be  absolutely  pro- 
hibited except  on  the  first  story,  i.  e.,  on  a  level  with  the  street. 
To  prevent  the  employment  of  young  children  illegally  in  manu- 
facturing conducted  in  tenement  houses,  enforce  the  factory  laws. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

Manufacturing  in  tenement  houses  can  be  restricted  by  stop- 
ping it  entirely  by  law  and  making  the  penalty  therefor  so  great 
that  no  one  would  attempt  to  evade  the  law. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  691 

INDUSTRIAL  COMMISSION'. 
R.  W.  DeForest: 

There  should  be  no  permanent  industrial  commission.  When- 
ever such  a  commission  is  needed  it  should  preferably  be  ap- 
pointed in  reference  to  the  particular  need  and  exist  only  long 
enough  to  fill  that  need.  Permanent  commissions  of  this  type 
tend  to  crystallzation  and  immobility. 

8.  M.  Dix: 

There  should  not  be  a  permanent  industrial  commission  ap- 
pointed to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Department  of 
Labor.  Let  the  Commissioner  bear  the  responsibility  and  either 
make  good  or  get  out. 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  am  in  favor  of  a  permanent  industrial  commission  to  work 
in  conjunction  with  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 

There  should  be  an  Industrial  Commission.  The  Commissioner 
of  Labor  with  kis  entire  staff  should  be  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Commissioner  of  Industry  and  they  should  give  this  board 
full  account  before  any  report  is  given  to  the  Legislature  or  Gov- 
ernor. This  Industrial  Commission  should  have  the  right  to  give 
orders  to  the  Commissioner  and  always  take  account  of  every 
thing  that  goes  on  in  every  Department. 

Eugene  L.  Lezinsky: 

We  believe  in  the  establishment  of  a  permanent  industrial  com- 
mission to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Department  of 
Labor,  and  it  should  be  made  up  of  men  and  women  to  serve 
without  pay,  with  a  paid  office  staff  and  a  sufficiently  large  budget 
to  be  provided  by  the  State  to  enable  the  employment  of  experts 
in  the  different  fields. 


692  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

I  would  suggest  a  Municipal  Industrial  Commission  for 
York  city,  such  as  proposed  by  the  New  York  City  Commission 
on  Congestion  of  Population,  on  page  31  of  its  report. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

There  should  not  be  a  permanent  industrial  commission  ap- 
pointed to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Department  of 
Labor. 

E.  A.  Quarles: 

I  am  very  much  opposed  to  a  permanent  industrial  commis- 
sion. It  would  seriously  interfere  with  the  board  of  technical 
experts. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

There  should  not  be  a  permanent  industrial  commission  ap- 
pointed to  work  in  conjunction  with  the  State  Labor  Department. 

F.  S.  Tomlin: 

A  permanent  industrial  commission  appointed  to  work  in  con- 
junction with  the  State  Department  of  Labor  would  be  a  useless 
duplication  of  offices. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

There  should  be  a  permanent  industrial  commission  appointed 
by  the  Legislature  and  with  absolute  power,  to  work  in  conjunc- 
tion with  the  State  Department  of  Labor. 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  693 

CONTINUATION  SCHOOLS  FOR  MINORS  EMPLOYED 
IN    FACTORIES    AND    MANUFACTURING 

ESTABLISHMENTS. 
S.  M.  Dix: 

I  advocate  the  establishment  of  continuation  schools,  measur- 
ably, but  the  matter  is  complex  and  should  be  very  elastic  to  meet 
widely  varying  conditions,  both  physical  and  mental. 

Dr.  George  W.  Goler: 

I  am  not  in  favor  of  continuation  schools  any  more  than  I  am 
in  favor  of  burning  the  candle  at  both  ends. 

Herman  Grossman: 

The  establishment  of  continuation  schools  should  not  be  com- 
pulsory. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman: 

I  am  heartily  in  favor  of  continuation  schools^  Tlhey  should  be 
organized  as  far  as  practicable  along  the  lines  which  have  proved 
succes&ful  in  Germany  and  England.  The  minimum  age  required 
should  be  not  less  than  18,  and  I  would  go  as  far  as  21,  provided 
the  attendance  was  limited  to,  say,  three  evenings  a  week. 

Dr.  M.  Loeb: 

Continuation  schools  are  an  immediate  necessity,  but  for  the 
study  of  this  question  a  special  commission  should  be  organized 
and  the  requirements  should  be  graduated  in  accordance  with  the 
industries  concerned. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

Continuation  schools  should  be  organized,  and  attendance 
should  be  compulsory  for  at  least  two  or  three  days  a  week, 
preferably  in  the  evening.  These  schools  should  be  for  children 
between  14  and  16. 


694  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

T7m.  H.  Maxwell: 

Continuation  schools  should  be  established  for  the  younger 
children  employed  in  factories  and  manufacturing  establishments 
in  this  city.  They  should  be  organized  under  the  direction  of 
the  Board  of  Education.  The  compulsory  attendance  upon  such 
schools  should  certainly  go  to  16,  and  quite  probably  to  18  years 
of  age.  The  part  of  the  day  that  should  be  devoted  to  such  schools 
should  be  either  4  P.  M.  to  6  p.  M.  two  or  three  days  in  the  week, 
or  7  A.  M.  to  9  A.  M. 

Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

I  advocate  the  establishment  of  continuation  schools,  with  two 
shifts,  morning  and  afternoon,  for  general  education  and  voca- 
tional training. 

P.  Tecumseh  Sherman: 

I  advocate  the  establishment  of  continuation  schools. 

F.  8.  Tomlin: 

I  unqualifiedly  advocate  the  estalishment  of  continuation 
schools. 

Charles  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

We  advocate  the  establishment  of  continuation  schools,  organ- 
ized by  the  school  authorities,  for  children  between  14  and  18 
years  of  age,  who  shall  attend  half-time. 

GENERAL  MATTERS. 
Chas.  Grace: 

The  plumbing  and  drainage  systems  of  factories,  as  a  general 
rule,  are  defective  because  of  the  fact  that  changes  and  repairs 
are  continually  made  by  some  handy  man  around  the  factory, 
who  is  neither  practical  nor  competent  to  do  such  work. 

I  would  suggest  that  the  Commission  recommend  that  Art.  4, 
Chap.  26  of  the  General  City  Law  be  amended  so  that  the  pres- 


QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION.  695 

ent  examining  boards  would  issue  licenses  to  journeymen  plumbers 
in  the  same  manner  that  they  now  examine  and  issue  licenses  to 
master  plumbers. 

Herman  Grossman: 

I  would  advise  this  Commission  to  recommend  to  the  Legis- 
lature that  a  sufficient  fund  should  be  appropriated  in  order  that 
the  State  Department  of  Labor  should  go  on  with  its  work  un- 
hampered, as  I  think  that  this  is  one  of  the  most  important  De- 
partments £,r  securing  the  safety  of  the  public  in  general. 

Frederick  L.  Hoffman: 

I  would  suggest  the  extensive  use  of  red  paint  to  indicate  dan- 
gerous parts  of  machinery  or  dangerous  places  generally,  such  as 
openings,  etc.  This  rule  is  in  general  use  throughout  Germany, 
and  manufacturers  are  required  to  paint  the  dangerous  portions 
of  machinery  red  in  compliance  with  the  safety  requirements 
formulated  on  the  basis  of  long  experience  by  the  Employers' 
Accident  Insurance  Associations. 

A  more  qualified  statistical  analysis  of  the  collected  informa- 
tion by  the  Labor  Department  is  advisable. 

It  would  be  advisable  to  incorporate  in  the  annual  reports  a 
descriptive  account  of  fatal  or  serious  accidents  involving  ques- 
tions of  violation  of  law  or  suggesting  improvements,  or  the  in- 
troduction of  safety  devices  for  the  prevention  of  similar  accidents 
in  the  future. 

The  Annual  Reports  of  the  Department  of  Labor  should  be 
made  to  conform  more  to  the  admirable  arrangement  followed 
for  many  years  in  the  reports  of  the  Chief  Factory  Inspector  of 
the  United  Kingdom. 

Dr.  8.  A.  Knopf: 

We  should  increase  the  force  of  more  technically  trained  fac- 
tory inspectors. 

Because  of  the  prevalence  of  tuberculosis  among  garment  work- 
ers, I  would  feel  indebted  to  the  Factory  Investigating  Commis- 
sion if  it  would  take  up  this  matter  as  a  subject  for  investigation. 


696  QUESTIONNAIRE  ISSUED  BY  COMMISSION. 

Benjamin  C.  Marsh: 

The  location  of  factories  in  certain  districts  should  be  pro- 
hibited by  local  authorities  of  New  York  city. 


Mrs.  Frederick  Nathan: 

There  should  be  more  women  factory  inspectors.  Women  have 
great  powers  of  observation,  are  faithful  and  give  attention. 
Plenty  of  first-rate  women  would  serve  where  first-rate  men  would 
seek,  perhaps,  other  work. 

It  would  be  of  interest  to  the  Commission  to  visit  candy  fac- 
tories and  factories  where  seasonal  overtime  work  is  exacted. 

Chas.  Yates  and  Edward  V.  Wood: 

It  would  tend  to  protect  the  operatives  to  prosecute  those  who 
evade  the  law  to  the  fullest  extent,  and  not  as  now,  a  half-hearted 
enforcement. 

There  is  a  woeful  lack  under  the  present  law  of  securing  a 
carrying  out  of  the  law.  During  the  last  year  three  specific  cases 
have  come  under  our  observation  wherein  it  was  clearly  proved 
that  the  law  was  being  violated,  and  men  placed  in  responsible 
authority  have,  by  acts  of  omission,  neglected  to  do  their  duty. 


APPENDIX    IX 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA  SUBMITTED  TO  THE 
COMMISSION 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA  SUBMITTED  TO  THE 
COMMISSION 

(i)     FIRE  PREVENTION,  FIRE-ESCAPE    FACILITIES    AND    BUILDING 

CONSTRUCTION: 

BRIEF  ON  FIRE  PREVENTION  AND  PUBLIC  SAFETY. 

By  KUDOLPH  P.  MILLER,  Superintendent  of  Buildings,  Borough 
of  Manhattan,  New  York  City. 

January  5th,  1912. 

Hon.  ROBERT  F.  WAGNEB,  Chairman  New  York  State  Factory 
Investigating  Commission. 

DEAR  SIR: 

In  accordance  with  the  request  of  your  counsel,  I  submit  the 
following  brief  on  the  subject  of  exit  facilities  for  buildings,  more 
particularly  factories. 

The  statements  and  arguments  offered  herewith  apply  more 
especially  to  the  problem  as  it  is  met  in  the  city  of  New  York, 
where  the  conditions  are,  in  many  respects,  different  from  those 
in  the  country  or  suburban  districts,  or  even  in  the  smaller  cities. 
Conditions  in  Manhattan  Borough  are  even  different  from  those 
in  the  other  four  boroughs.  In  the  smaller  cities  and  the  boroughs 
outside  of  Manhattan,  the  availability  of  greater  space  makes  the 
problem  of  proper  exit  facilities  to  buildings  much  simpler. 

The  question  of  adequate  means  of  egress,  like  the  old  tenement- 
house  problem  and  the  congestion  evil,  has  been  allowed  to  grow 
unchecked.  No  blame  for  its  present  condition  can  be  attached 
to  any  municipal  department,  for  the  law,  so  far  as  public  opinion 
has  sustained  it,  has  been  enforced.  And  this  is  not  to  be  taken 
as  an  apology  on  the  part  of  the  Bureau  of  Buildings,  as  T  ?av 
without  hesitation  that  never  before  has  the  subject  of  proper 
exit  facilities  received  the  same  attention  as  it  does  now,  and  even 
before  the  Triangle  Waist  Company  fire.  That  unfortunate  oe- 


700  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

currence  has  merely  caused  the  public  to  realize  that  there  is  a 
serious  problem  to  deal  with,  although  that  case  was  really  not  so 
serious  a  one  in  the  matter  of  exit  facilities  as  many  others  that 
existed  at  the  time  of  the  fire. 

Personally,  I  have  given  this  subject  much  consideration.  So 
far  back  as  1902  I  called  attention  to  the  illogical  basis  for  the 
present  requirements  for  stairs  and  fire-escapes.  As  Chief  Engi- 
neer of  the  Bureau  of  Buildings  for  some  years,  I  endeavored,  and 
often  succeeded  in  securing  in  the  new  buildings  better  exit  facili- 
ties and.  protection  in  case  of  fire  than  what  was  understood  the 
Jaw  required,  by  having  stairs  enclosed  when  they  might  be  open, 
by  dividing  buildings  into  sections,  by  the  use  of  interior  partitions 
and  fire  doors  across  corridors,  and  in  one  or  two  instances  provid- 
ing fire  towers.  As  one  of  the  Commissioners  for  the  revision  of 
the  Building  Code  in  1907,  I  provided  the  section  on  fire-escapes, 
and  for  the  first  time  inserted  the  provision  for  fire  towers. 

Since  my  appointment  as  superintendent  I  organized  with  such 
material  as  I  had  at  my  command,  a  force  to  take  care  of  cases 
that  needed  attention.  This  has  been  done  at  the  expense,  to 
some  extent,  of  the  efficiency  of  the  normal  inspection  force.  My 
effort  to  secure  the  necessary  additional  help  to  get  the  force  well 
organized  and  to  restore  the  men  assigned  to  this  work  to  their 
former  duties,  did  not  meet  with  much  success. 

The  law  did  not  require  any  systematic  inspection  on  the  part 
of  the  Bureau  of  Buildings  of  existing  buildings,  and  the  force 
assigned  to  that  work  was  only  intended  to  handle  the  complaints 
that  reach  the  Bureau  through  the  State  Department  of  Labor, 
the  Fire  Department,  and  other  sources.  The  work  of  the  force 
which  I  have,  for  conveniencce  in  administration,  called  the  Pub- 
lic Safety  Division  of  the  Bureau,  .also  included  the  inspection  of 
all  theatres,  common  shows,  dance  halls,  and  other  places  of  amuse- 
ment when  requested  by  the  Police  Department  or  the  Bureau  of 
Licenses  at  the  time  of  application  for  renewals  of  licenses,  also 
the  inspection  of  hotels  for  the  Excise  Department.  The  division, 
therefore,  as  now  planned,  would  not  be  equal  to  the  task  of  a 
systematic  inspection  of  workshops  or  factories,  but  could  very 
readily  be  enlarged  to  include  such  work. 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  701 

No  reliable  information,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  exists  as  to  the 
number  of  factories  in  the  city  of  Kew  York,  or  in  any  one  of  the 
boroughs.  The  State  Factory  Inspector's  annual  report  gives  the 
number  of  inspections  made,  but  does  not  give  information  lead- 
ing to  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  factories.  My  own  estimate, 
based  on  such  information  as  is  in  the  Bureau  of  Buildings,  is 
that  there  are  20,000  buildings  in  Manhattan  in  which  one  or 
more  workshops  or  factories  exist.  Thorough  inspections,  includ- 
ing the  filing  of  reports  and  notices,  and  the  necessary  reinspec- 
tions,  cannot  well  be  made  at  a  greater  rate  than  five  or  six  per 
day.  This  would  mean  a  force  of  about  sixteen  inspectors,  and 
three  clerks,  to  secure  an  annual  inspection  of  factories  and  work- 
shops. If,  however,  ample  summary  powers  were  given  the 
Bureau,  and  the  same  were  properely  exercised,  I  am  sure  the 
work  could  be  done  with  even  a  smaller  force.  More  frequent 
inspection  would,  of  course,  require  a  proportionately  larger  force. 

As  I  pointed  out  in  1902,  so  far  as  possible  the  necessary  exit 
facilities  to  any  building  should  be  provided  within  the  building 
itself.  This  is  quite  possible  in  the  case  of  new  buildings,  but  for 
the  existing  buildings  in  a  closely  built  community  like  this 
borough,  great  difficulties  are  experienced  in  an  effort  to  carry 
out  this  general  principle.  Kesort  must  often  be  had  to  outside 
means  of  egress,  and  perhaps  even  to  the  unsatisfactory  outside 
fire-escapes. 

The  means  of  enforcing  whatever  legal  requirements  are  pre- 
scribed is  all-important.  The  imposition  of  a  penalty  is  not  effec- 
tive. To  secure  judgment  it  is  necessary  to  start  legal  proceed- 
ings, which  means  delay  and  perhaps  finally  even  a  remission  of 
the  penalty.  To  collect  the  penalty  after  judgment  is  obtained, 
further  action  through  the  sheriff  is  necessary.  Of  about  170 
penalties  incurred  in  1910  by  failure  to  provide  fire-escapes 
promptly  when  notified,  judgments  were  obtained  in  nine  cases 
only,  but,  so  far  as  I  know,  collection  has  been  made  in  none  of 
these  cases.  Furthermore,  the  collection  of  the  penalty  does  not 
yet  secure  a  compliance  with  the  order.  In  many  instances  a 
separate  action  must  be  started.  A  notable  instance  is  the  case 
of  the  new  exits  recently  provided  on  the  Madison  Square  Gar- 


702  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

den.  It  was  in  March,  1902,  that  the  order  for  the  outside  stairs 
was  first  issued.  This  order  was  superseded  by  another  in  1907, 
and  was  soon  after  sent  to  the  corporation  counsel  for  prosecution. 
The  stairs  called  for  by  this  order  were  only  erected  in  the  early 
part  of  1910  and  judgment  secured  in  March  of  the  same  year, 
which,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  however,  has  not  yet 
been  paid.  The  general  moral  effect  of  such  proceedings  on  other 
cases  is  practically  nil. 

Sometimes  recourse  is  had,  but  only  in  flagrant  cases,  to  a  com- 
plaint under  section  8  of  the  Sanitary  Code,  which  brings  the 
matter  before  a  magistrate,  who  generally  directs  a  compliance 
within  a  certain  time,  after  which,  if  the  work  is  done,  the  com- 
plaint is  dismissed.  Or,  if  the  work  is  not  done,  he  grants  fur- 
ther delay  or  holds  the  offender  for  Special  Sessions.  All  this 
again  means  delay  and  no  general  moral  stimulus. 

The  provisions  of  sections  776  and  776-A  of  the  recently  enacted 
Fire  Prevention  Bill  (chapter  899,  Laws  of  1911),  under  which 
the  Fire  Department  may,  upon  the  refusal  or  neglect  of  the  re- 
sponsible party  to  do  so,  "  execute  such  order  with  its  own  em- 
ployees or  equipment,  or  by  the  employment  of  other 
agencies,"  and  by  which  the  expense  becomes  a  charge 
against  the  responsible  parties  or  a  lien  on  rents  and 
compensation  due,  will,  in  my  opinion,  not  be  effective, 
inasmuch  as  the  responsible  parties  are  not  always  reached 
and  the  lien  may  stand  indefinitely.  The  lien  may  even 
prove  uncollectable  because  of  other  incumbrances,  a  condition 
which  did  occur  in  the  case  of  certain  liens  against  property  by 
reason  of  work  done  by  the  Bureau  of  Buildings  under  Precept 
in  Unsafe  Building  cases.  Even  when  the  liens  are  collectable, 
the  method  will  not  have  any  great  effect  in  securing  prompt  com- 
pliance in  other  cases.  In  fact,  it  is  likely  that  this  method 
would  lead  the  city  into  the  construction  business  and  tenants  and 
owners  would  often  rely  on  the  work  being  done  in  this  way.  Ten- 
ants whose  leases  had  only  a  short  time  to  run  would  be  particu- 
larly prone  to  delay  the  payment  of  liens  in  the  hope  of  ulti- 
mately saddling  it  on  the  landlord. 

The  most  effective  way,  in  my  opinion,  to  secure  prompt  com- 
pliance with  orders,  is  to  confer  on  the  administrative  authority 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  703 

summary  powers  to  vacate  and  shut  up  any  manufacturing  build- 
ing, or  part  of  building,  until  the  necessary  work  has  been  done  to 
make  it  safe.  To  guard  against  a  misuse  of  this  power,  it  would 
be  well  to  provide  for  an  appeal  to  a  board  of  survey,  as  proposed 
in  the  Herrick  bill,  passed  by  the  recent  Legislature,  but  vetoed 
by  the  mayor.  Such  an  action  need  be  taken  in  only  a  few  In- 
stances to  secure  a  prompt  compliance  in  practically  all  cases.  It 
would  also  mean  that  the  inspection  force  would  not  be  so  large 
as  otherwise,  as  reinspections  would  not  have  to  be  so  frequent. 

The  problem  of  providing  adequate  exit  facilities  divides  itself 
into  two  parts,  exits  from  buildings  hereafter  erected  and  exits 
from  existing  buildings.  Provision  for  proper  facilities  for  new 
structures  is  not  difficult  to  obtain.  The  present  requirements 
should,  however,  be  supplemented  by  a  few  additional  general  re- 
quirements, basic  in  character,  not  too  specific,  but  more  definite 
than  the  present  ones.  Although  the  powers  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Buildings  were  very  broad,  he  lacked  the  support  of  public 
opinion  in  the  enforcement  of  requirements  not  specifically  given 
in  the  law.  The  architect,  builder  or  owner  who  is  asked  to  put 
in  additional  stairs,  or  to  enclose  such  as  he  does  provide,  has 
pleaded  past  practice  for  their  omission.  The  authority  to  pro- 
mulgate detailed  regulations  to  meet  the  many  and  varied  con- 
ditions that  arise  from  time  to  time  and  cannot  be  specifically 
provided  for  in  any  law,  should  be  conferred  on  ths  administra- 
tive officer.  Such  power  should,  however,  be  safeguarded  by  re- 
quiring all  such  regulations  to  be  published  for  some  time  and  an 
opportunity  offered  for  a  hearing,  if  requested,  before  the  same 
shall  be  effective.  The  power  to  issue  regulations  should,  of 
course,  apply  to  existing  buildings  as  well  as  new  structures. 

The  present  Building  Code,  in  section  75,  provides  that  the 
number  of  staircases  in  stores,  factories,  hotels  and  lodging- 
houses,  shall  be  proportioned  to  the  area  of  the  buildings,  irrespec- 
tive of  the  height  or  number  of  stairs,  or  the  number  of  occupants. 
This  is  illogical.  Exit  facilities,  including  number  and  width  of 
doors,  stairs  and  passages,  should  be  proportioned  to  the  number 
of  persons  to  be  accommodated.  As  the  necessity  for  them  in- 
creases, the  stairs  should  increase  in  number  and  width.  That  is, 
in  each  succeeding  story  from  the  top  down,  the  stairs  should  be 


704  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

proportioned  to  the  number  of  occupants  above  that  particular 
flight.  The  requirements  which  I  consider  fundamental  and 
which  should  be  incorporated  in  the  law  governing  mercantile  and 
public  buildings  are  as  follows: 

No  DOOR,  STAIR  OR  PASSAGEWAY  SHALL  BE  LESS  THAN  THREE 
FOUR  INCHES  WIDE  IN  THE  CLEAR. 


This  will  allow  two  persons,  of  average  size  and  weight,  to  walk 
abreast  without  delay. 

AT  LEAST  Two  SEPARATE  STAIRCASES,  WITH  THE  NECESSARY 
DOORS  AND  PASSAGEWAYS,  SHALL  BE  PROVIDED  FOR  ANY  BUILD- 
ING OVER  THREE  STORIES  IN  HEIGHT  OR  OVER  3,000  SQUARE 
FEET  IN  AREA. 

The  necessity  for  at  least  two  separate  and  distinct  means  of 
egress  from  any  place  where  a  large  number  of  persons  is  liable 
to  congregate  seems  to  me  self-evident.  Whether  the  limitations 
here  specified  are  the  best  is,  of  course,  a  matter  of  judgment. 
Personally,  I  believe  three  stories  the  proper  maximum  height  for 
one  staircase,  and  this  is  also  in  a  measure  recognized  by  the  Labor 
Law  (section  82).  It  may,  however,  considering  the  height  limi- 
tation, be  fair  to  extend  the  limit  of  area  to  something  more  than 
3,000  square  feet. 

WHEN  MORE  THAN  ONE  is  REQUIRED,  THE  STAIRS  SHALL  BE  so 
PLACED  THAT  AT  LEAST  ONE  is  ALWAYS  ACCESSIBLE  TO  THE 
OCCUPANTS  IN  CASE  ANY  ONE  OF  THE  OTHERS  is  RENDERED  IM- 
PASSABLE FOR  SOME  REASON,  AND  THAT  IT  WILL  NOT  BE  NECES- 
SARY TO  TRAVEL  MORE  THAN  EIGHTY  FEET  IN  A  DIRECT  HORI- 
ZONTAL LINE  TO  REACH  EITHER  ONE  OF  ANY  Two. 

This  provision  would  fix  the  minimum  number  of  staircases  for 
any  building  requiring  more  than  one.  Its  effect  would  be  to 
require  more  than  two  staircases  in  any  building  of  greater  area 
than  6,400  square  feet  and  an  additional  stairs  approximately  for 
every  6,400  square  feet  in  excess  of  6,400  square  feet.  These 
would  be  maximum  conditions.  Practically,  in  smaller  buildings, 
the  number  would  be  proportionately  larger,  because  of  some  of 
the  difficulties  that  would  be  met  in  placing  them  to  receive  the 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  705 

greatest  floor  area  per  staircase.  The  proportion  would  be  about 
the  same  as  it  is  under  the  present  law  (section  75,  Building 
Code). 

EVERY  STAIRS  SHALL  BE  ENCLOSED  IN  AN  APPROVED  FIRE- 
PROOF CONSTRUCTION  AND  SHALL  HAVE  A  DIRECT  EXTERIOR 
OUTLET  TO  THE  STREET  OR  TO  A  COURT  LEADING  TO  A  STREET, 
AT  THE  GROUND  FLOOR. 

The  enclosing  of  the  stairs  as  here  provided  is  of  utmost  import- 
anca  The  stairs,  under  these  provisions,  being  made,  as  they 
should  be,  the  means  of  exit,  would  afford  those  using  them  the 
best  possible  protection.  Those  from  the  upper  stories  may  be 
compelled  to  pass  a  lower  story  in  which  there  is  fire.  It  would 
be  well  to  have  the  stair  construction  also  fireproof,  but  that  is  not 
so  essential  if  they  are  substantially  enclosed.  As  far  as  possible 
all  stairs  should  be  constructed  as  fire  towers  (as  decribed  further 
on).  The  value  of  such  enclosures  is  illustrated  in  a  fire  that  oc- 
curred in  the  Trinity  Building  a  few  years  ago.  The  wire  insu- 
lation started  burning,  causing  a  very  dense  smoke,  none  of  which, 
however,  reached  the  stairs,  though  located  close  to  the  fire,  be- 
cause of  the  substantial  enclosure  around  the  stairs.  On  the  other, 
hand,  in  the  Morton  Building  fire,  the  smoke  from  a  fire  on  the 
second  floor  passed  through  the  entire  building  by  way  of  the  unen- 
closed stairs,  cutting  off  the  safe  escape  of  those  (fortunately  few) 
who  happened  to  be  in  the  upper  part  of  the  structure. 

THL  RISERS  AND  TREADS  OF  STAIRS  SHALL,  BE  so  PROPOR- 
TIONED THAT  THE  STAIRS  FURNISH  A  SAFE  AND  COMFORTABLE 

LINE  OF  TRAVEL.  THE  RISERS  SHALL  NOT  EXCEED  7^"  IN 
HEIGHT  AND  THE  TREADS  SHALL  BE  NOT  LESS  THAN  9^"  WIDE, 
EXCEPT  THAT  WINDING  TREADS  HAVING  A  MINIMUM  WIDTH  OF  6" 
AT  ONE  END  AND  AN  AVERAGE  WIDTH  NOT  EXCEEDING  9y2",  MAY 
BE  USED  WHERE  STRAIGHT  RUNS  ARE  IMPRACTICABLE  OR  UNDE- 
SIRABLE. ALL  TREADS  OTHER  THAN  WINDING  TREADS  AND 
RISERS  SHALL  BE  OF  UNIFORM  DIMENSIONS  IN  ANY  ONE  FLIGHT. 

The  limiting  dimensions  given  here  are  a  departure  from  present 
requirements,  but  are  proper  and  desirable.    It  will  be  noted  that 
23 


706  BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

they  comply  with  all  the  conditions  for  safe  and  comfortable  stairs 
given  by  Kidder  in  his  "Architects'  and  Builders'  Pocketbook" 
(p.  1476,  Ed.  1908),  as  follows: 

"  *  *  *  For  ordinary  use  a  rise  of  7  to  7^  ins.  makes  a 
very  comfortable  stair.  *  *  *  Stairs  having  a  rise  greater 
than  7%  ins.  are  steep. 

The  width  of  the  run  (tread)  should  be  determined  by  the 
height  of  the  rise;  the  less  the  rise  the  greater  should  be  the  run, 
and  vice  versa.  Several  rules  have  been  given  for  proportioning 
the  run  to  the  rise,  viz.  : 

(1)   The  sum  of  the  rise  and  run  should  be  equal  to  from  17  to 
inches. 


(2)  The  sum  of  two  risers  and  a  tread  should  not  be  less  than 
24  nor  more  than  25  inches. 

(3)  The  product  of  the  rise  and  run  shall  not  be  less  than  70 
nor  more  than  75." 

The  existing  Building  Code  does  not  provide  for  limiting  dimen- 
sions of  treads  and  risers,  except  in  theatres.  For  these  buildings 
the  requirements  are  71/2~inch  risers  and  lOV^-inch  treads  for  in- 
terior stairs  and  8^-inch  risers  and  9-inch  treads  for  exterior  or 
emergency  stairs.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  a  difference 
should  be  made,  as  both  types  of  stairs  are  for  the  safe  egress  of 
the  audience.  Curiously  enough,  this  precedent  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  the  proposed  Building  Code  revision  of  1907,  1909 
(majority  «nd  minority)  and  1911  in  the  theatre  ?eof'on  only. 
For  stairs  in  other  buildings  all  three  revisions  propose  8-inch 
risers  and  9-inch  treads.  The  Labor  Law  does  not  cover  this 
point.  The  Tenement  House  Law  provides  for  8-inch  risers  and 
10-inch  treads.  None  of  these  cases  cited  complies  with  all  the 
rules  given  by  Kidder. 

Winders  have  been  generally  condemned,  though  the  Tenement 
House  Law  (section  17)  permits  their  use  where  a  power  passen- 
ger elevator  is  provided,  on  condition  that  the  treads  shall  be  at 
least  ten  inches  wide  at  a  point  eighteen  inches  from  the  strings 
on  the  well  side.  There  are  circumstances  where  the  prohibition 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  707 

of  winders  would  probably  be  a  decided  hardship.  The  form  of 
winder  allowed  by  the  Tenement  House  Law  is  not  safe  where 
many  people  must  use  a  stair.  The  form  which  I  have  suggested 
above  is  safe. 

No  FLIGHT  OF  STAIRS  SHALL  HAVE  A  VERTICAL  EISE  OF  MORE 
THAN  TWELVE  FEET  BETWEEN  FLOORS  OR  INTERMEDIATE  PLAT- 
FORMS; AND  IN  STRAIGHT  RUNS  PLATFORMS  SHALL  BE  SPACED 
EQUIDISTANT  BETWEEN  UPPER  AND  LOWER  LIMITS. 

This  provision  has  been  recommended  by  every  commission  or 
committee  that  has  considered  the  revision  of  the  Building  Code. 
Its  necessity  is  practically  self-evident.  While  too  short  runs, 
especially  where  frequent,  are  not  desirable  on  account  of  confu- 
sion produced  by  repeated  change  in  direction,  the  long  runs,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  dangerous  because  of  the  greater  length  of 
stair  probably  affected  by  a  chance  slipping  on  any  part  of  the 
flight. 

THE  AGGREGATE  CLEAR  WIDTH  OF  DOORS  AND  PASSAGEWAYS 
INTENDED  TO  SERVE  AS  EXITS  FROM  ANY  BUILDING  OR  PART  OF 
A  BUILDING  SHALL  BE  AT  LEAST  TWELVE  INCHES  FOR  EVT.RY 
TWENTY  PERSONS  TO  BE  ACCOMMODATED,  PROVIDED  NONE  is 
LESS  THAN  FORTY  INCHES  WIDE. 

The  purpose  of  this  requirement  is  to  secure  adequate  exit  facili- 
ties from  each  and  every  enclosed  space.  It  would,  at  first 
thought,  seem  an  unnecessary  provision,  as  it  is  so  self-evident. 
And  yet  past  experience  shows  that  in  many  cases  a  single  narrow 
door  has  been  assumed  to  be  sufficient,  though  a  large  number  of 
persons  were  relying  on  it  for  safe  egress.  The  width  has  been 
arbitrarily  fixed  at  12  inches  per  twenty  persons.  It  is  not  as 
much  as  is  later  suggested  for  width  of  stairs ;  but  as  this  provision 
applies  only  to  exits  along  level  surfaces  on  which  progress  can 
be  much  more  rapid  than  on  stairs,  it  would  seem  adequate.  Gen- 
erally speaking,  it  provides  about  half  the  proposed  width  of  stair 
facilities. 

THE  AGGREGATE  CLEAR  WIDTH  OF  STAIRS  AND  STAIR  HALLS 
SHALL  BE  SUCH  THAT  THE  STAIRS  IN  ANY  STORY  OF  A  BUILDING 


708  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 


ACCOMMODATE  AT  ONE  TIME  THE  TOTAL  NUMBER  OF  PER- 
SONS ORDINARILY  OCCUPYING  OR  PERMITTED  TO  OCCUPY  ANY 
ONE  FLOOR  ABOVE  THE  FLIGHT  OF  STAIRS  UNDER  CONSIDERA- 

TION,  ON   THE   BASIS  THAT  AT  LEAST   TWENTY   INCHES  OF  WlDTII 

AND  ONE  AND  ONE-HALF  TREADS  ARE  REQUIRED  PER  PERSON. 

This  is  a  very  drastic  provision,  and  will  undoubtedly  meet  with 
strenuous  and  perhaps  overwhelming  opposition.  But  if  a  prompt 
and  complete  evacuation  of  the  building  is  considered  necessary 
for  the  safety  of  the  occupants,  then  heroic  treatment  must  be 
applied  and  this  requirement,  as  drawn,  is  to  my  mind  the  only 
solution,  unless  other  safeguards,  to  be  discussed  later,  are  in- 
augurated, in  which  case  the  requirement  may  be  much  modified. 
The  theory  on  which  this  provision  is  based  is  that  it  is  necessary 
to  provide  such  adequate  stair  facilities  that  every  occupant  can 
leave  his  place  at  the  first  note  of  alarm,  pass  along  the  most  direct 
means  of  exit  and  get  out  of  the  building  without  delay.  It  as- 
sumes that  the  character  of  the  construction  does  not  affect  the 
safety  of  the  occupants,  that  is,  that  the  occupants  must  be  taken 
out  as  quickly  from  a  fireproof  building  as  from  a  non-fireproof 
building.  The  contents  being  generally  combustible,  will  burn  as 
readily  in  the  one  type  of  construction  as  in  the  other.  The  only 
advantage  that  the  fireproof  construction  has  over  the'  non-fireproof 
is  that  the  chances  of  fire  in  the  former  are  smaller  in  the  propor- 
tion that  the  number  of  fires  originating  in  the  structural  parts  of 
buildings  bears  to  the  total  number  of  fires  originating  in  structure 
or  contents.  It  might  be  argued  that  some  allowance  should  be 
made  when  the  contents  are  of  practically  incombustible  character, 
such  as  hardware,  china,  etc.,  but  there  is  always  combustible  fur- 
niture or  packing  that  will  furnish  fuel.  It  would  be  exceedingly 
difficult  to  draw  a  line  between  combustible  and  incombustible 
contents.  It  is  also  practically  impossible  to  limit  the  use  of 
factory  buildings  to  certain  special  industries  in  localities  under- 
going industrial  changes.  Then,  too,  the  liability  of  panic,  without 
lire,  must  be  considered. 

The  time  required,  under  this  provision,  to  empty  a  building  of 
its  occupants  will  be  that  required  for  any  one  to  go  from  the  top 
story  by  means  of  the  stairs  to  the  outside  of  the  building  at  the 


BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  709 

ground  floor.  This  would,  of  course,  vary  with  the  height  of  the 
building.  The  only  information  based  on  actual  trial  that  I 
know  of  is  given  by  Mr.  H.  F.  J.  Porter.  He  found  that  it  took 
six  minutes  to  pass  through  a  twelve-story  building  from  the  top 
floor  to  the  ground,  or  an  average  of  about  30  seconds  per  story. 
Quicker  egress  may,  of  course,  be  possible  where  there  is  no  ob- 
struction or  congestion,  but  considering  the  stairs  completely  filled 
with  people,  progress  at  the  rate  of  two  stories  per  minute  may  be 
considered  very  liberal.  There  is  a  suggestion  here  whether  it 
would  not  be  wise  to  prohibit  factories  in  buildings  over  eight 
stories  high ;  that  is,  to  such  as  could  be  emptied  in  four  minutes 
ov  less. 

There  is  a  weak  point  in  the  preceding  argument,  namely,  the 
assumption  that  all  occupants  will  start  to  leave  the  building  at  the 
same  moment.  Unless  there  is  a  simultaneous  exit  of  all  the 
occupants,  congestion  is  sure  to  occur;  thus,  for  instance,  if  the 
occupants  of  the  fifth  story  of  a  building  should  fail  to  move  at 
the  same  time  that  the  occupants  of  the  sixth  and  upper  stories  do, 
when  they  actually  do  start  they  will  conflict  with  the  occupants  of 
the  sixth  story,  who  will  have  proceeded  down  the  stairs  and  will 
have  occupied  in  whole  or  in  part  the  flight  of  stairs  from  the 
fifth  floor  down.  The  more  general  throughout  a  building  the 
irregularity  of  starting  is,  the  greater  the  congestion  or  confusion 
is  likely  to  bo.  The  difficulty  could  be  met  by  providing  separate 
stairways  for  each  and  every  floor;  a  solution  that  is  practicable 
only  in  localities  where  floor  areas  are  not  limited  and  buildings 
stand  isolated  so  that  ample  exit  at  ground  level  can  be  provided. 
Another  solution  would  be  had  by  compelling  the  use  of  fire  alarms 
throughout,  so  arranged  that  all  parts  of  the  building  would  be 
notified  at  the  same  time.  This,  supplemented  by  proper  fire 
drills,  would,  T  believe,  meet  the  difficulty.  The  very  drastic 
character  of  the  provision  would  be  best  illustrated  by  a  few 
examples : 

1.  In  a  twelve-story  mercantile  building  recently  erected,  hav- 
iung  a  floor  area  of  a  little  more  than  16,000  square  feet  in  the 
upper  stories,  it  was  found  by  actual  count  that  the  number  of 
occupants  varied  from  5  to  175  on  the  several  floors.  Under  the 


710  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

proposed  provision,  four  staircases  each  5  feet  wide  and  one  3  feet 
4  inches  wide,  would  be  required  through  the  second,  third  and 
fourth  stories. 

2.  In  a  twelve-story  mercantile  building,  covering  a  floor  area 
of  little  more  than  5,000  square  feet,  the  number  of  occupants 
was  found  to  vary  from  8  to  85  per  floor,  requiring,  by  the  pro- 
posed provision,  one  staircase  5  feet  wide  and  two  staircases  3  feet 
4  inches  wide  from  the  second  to  the  eighth  stories,  inclusive. 

3.  In  a  twelve-story  loft  building,  covering  an  area  of  about 
3,600  square  feet,  the  number  of  occupants  was  found  to  vary 
from  7  to  80  per  floor,  requiring  one  stairway  5  feet  wide  and  two 
stairways  3  feet  4  inches  wide  in  the  second,  third  and  fourth 
stories. 

4.  In  a  twelve-story  loft  building  covering  an  area  of  a  little 
less  than  10,000  square  feet,  the  number  of  occupants  was  found 
to  vary  from  40  to  300  per  floor,  requiring  in  the  fourth  and  fifth 
stories  seven  staircases  5  feet  wide  and  two  staircases  3  feet  4 
inches  wide,  the  lower  stories  in  this  building  being  higher  than 
those  above.     The  number  of  staircases  was  less  by  one  5  feet 
stairway  below  the  fourth  story,  as  the  flights  were  longer  and 
could  accommodate  more  people. 

5.  In  a  twelve-story  loft  building  covering  an  area  of  a  little 
less  than  14,000  square  feet  the  number  of  occupants  was  found 
to  vary  from  9  to  200  per  floor,  requiring  by  the  above  provision 
five  5  feet  wide  stairways  from  the  eighth  story  down.     In  this 
particular  building  the  200  employees  were  found  on  the  ninth 
floor,  whereas  the  highest  number  in  any  other  story  was  60  on 
the  tenth  floor.     Because  of  this  large  number  on  the  ninth  floor, 
five    wide    stairways    would    be    required    under    the    proposed 
provision. 

At  first  glance,  these  figures  seem  absurd.  Yet  a  careful  con- 
sideration of  the  conditions  to  be  met  can  lead  to  no  other  con- 
clusion. The  result  would  be  to  prohibit  altogether  the  crowded 
factory,  or  to  force  the  inauguration  of  other  safeguards  which 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  711 

would  justify  considerable  reductions  in  the  widths  of  stairs. 
Such  allowances  are  suggested  in  the  following  proposed  pro- 
vision. Before  passing  on  to  them,  however,  it  may  be  well  to 
give  a  little  further  consideration  to  the  figures  suggested  here 
for  the  basis  of  the  calculations  for  determining  the  stair  capac- 
ities. It  has  been  at  times  proposed  to  increase  the  width  of  stairs  by 
inches  over  a  fixed  minimum,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  people 
to  be  accommodated  over  and  above  a  certain  number  considered 
as  the  capacity  of  stair  of  minimum  width.  This  was  based  on 
observations  by  the  Public  Service  Commission  of  the  number  of 
persons  passing  a  point  on  a  stairway  within  a  certain  time.  These 
records  show  that  on  stairways  more  than  4  feet  wide,  thirteen 
persons  passed  one  point  per  minute  for  each  foot  of  width  of 
stair.  This  information  is  hardly  applicable  to  buildings,  how- 
ever, as  it  is  not  continuous  streams  of  people  that  are  to  be  pro- 
vided for,  but  a  mass  of  people  which  must  be  moved  all  at  once. 
A  stair  3  feet  4  inches  wide  is  considered  suitable  for  two  persons 
walking  abreast;  that  is,  20  inches  each.  A  stair  slightly  wider, 
say  3  feet  10  inches,  will,  because  it  allows  of  greater  freedom  of 
motion,  have  a  somewhat  greater  capacity,  but  it  is  not  until  a 
width  three  times  20  inches,  or  5  feet,  is  provided  that  three 
persons  can  walk  abreast.  In  the  direction  of  travel  the  allow- 
ance made  is  one  and  one-half  treads.  The  minimum  width  of 
tread  being  fixed  at  9 1/2  inches,  the  allowance  per  person  becomes 
l41/4  ip^hes  as  a  minimum,  a  not  too  generous  allowance  for  the 
average  adult  for  safe  progress. 

There  is  an  advantage,  not  above  referred  to,  in  a  fireproof 
building  over  a  non-fireproof  building,  that,  if  the  construction  is 
thoroughly  fireproof,  if  vertical  openings  are  eliminated,  all  open- 
ings to  the  outer  air  are  protected  by  approved  metal  and  wire 
glass  windows  or  doors,  and  if  stairs  are  enclosed  in  so-called  fire 
towers,  fire  cannot  spread  from  floor  to  floor  with  any  rapidity, 
and  the  occupants  of  such  parts  of  the  building  as  are  not  afire 
are  quite  as  safe  as  those  in  an  adjoining  building  separated  only 
by  a  thin,  but  fireproof,  party  wall.  Under  such  circumstances 
a  reduction  in  width  of  stairs,  from  the  above,  could  be  permitted 
as  follows: 


712  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

.WHEN  THE  BUILDING  is  OF  THOROUGHLY  FIREPROOF  CON- 
STRUCTION, WITH  NO  COMMUNICATION  FROM  FLOOR  TO  FLOOR 
EXCEPT  BY  ELEVATORS  IN  SOLID  FIREPROOF  ENCLOSURES  AND 
STAIRS  IN  FIRE  TOWERS  CONSTRUCTED  AS  HEREIN  ELSEWHERE 
DESCRIBED,  AND  ALL  OPENINGS  TO  THE  OUTER  AIR  ARE  PRO- 
TECTED BY  METAL  AND  WIRE  GLASS  WINDOWS  OR  DOORS  OF 
APPROVED  CONSTRUCTION,  A  EEDUCTION  OF  TWENTY  PER  CENT 
IN  THE  AGGREGATE  WIDTH  SPECIFIED  MAY  BE  MADE. 

Of  greater  importance  than  fireproof  construction  as  a  safe- 
guard is  an  efficient  means  of  extinguishing  fire  in  its  incipiency. 
For  this  purpose  there  is  nothing  better  than  a  well  designed 
automatic  sprinkler  equipment.  Properly  arranged  and  system- 
atically inspected  it  has  been  described  as  "  the  greatest  economic 
system  of  the  age."  Fully  ninety  per  cent  of  the  fires  in  build- 
ing equipped  with  automatic  sprinklers  have  been  effectively  held 
in  check  or  extinguished  in  incipiency.  It  is  stated  that  "  to-day 
their  value  is  so  well  appreciated  that  churches,  hotels,  steamboats, 
department  stores,  theatres,  asylums  and  like  establishments 
where  large  numbers  of  people  congregate,  are  protected  with 
automatic  sprinklers,  as  much,  in  many  instances,  for  safety  of 
the  lives  of  the  people  as  the  loss  of  property  by  fire."  The  same 
authority  describes  them  as  "  the  best  known  preventive  of  fire 
and  loss  of  human  life  from  fire."  There  can  be  little  doubt  of 
the  truth  of  these  claims  when  they  refer  to  properly  installed  and 
carefully  supervised  equipments.  The  efficiency  of  sprinklers 
depends  much  on  their  maintenance.  As  it  is  difficult  to  insure 
that  through  legislation,  as  large  an  allowance  as  would  seem  to  be 
justified  by  the  statements  made  cannot  be  granted.  Their  use 
in  any  building  would,  however,  justify  the  following  provision: 

WHEN  AN  APPROVED  EQUIPMENT  OF  AUTOMATIC  SPRINKLERS 
is  INSTALLED  IN  ANY  BUILDING,  A  REDUCTION  OF  TWENTY-FIVE 
PER  CENT  IN  THE  AGGREGATE  WIDTH  SPECIFIED  MAY  BE  MADE. 

The  best  safeguard,  and  the  one  for  which  the  greatest  allow- 
ance can  be  made,  is  the  "  fire  wall,"  which  consists  of  a  sub- 
stantial partition  through  the  building,  so  arranged  and  provided 
with  doors  that  all  the  occupants  of  any  one  part  of  a  building 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  713 

may,  by  quickly  passing  through  the  doors,  be  protected  against 
the  fire  and  smoke  that  may  be  raging  in  that  section  which  they 
left.  Its  great  advantage  is  its  permanency  after  it  is  once  erected, 
inasmuch  as  it  cannot  easily  be  removed  without  being  noticed, 
and  its  removal  would  require  official  sanction.  The  wall  must 
be  of  such  strength  and  fire  resisting  construction  that  it  will  serve 
as  a  barrier  during  a  fire  for  at  least  thirty  minutes  so  that  those 
depending  on  it  can  leave  the  protected  section  without  undue 
hurry  or  excitement.  The  only  openings  permitted  in  this  wall 
should  be  the  necessary  door  openings  to  provide  adequate  facili- 
ties for  exit  from  one  section  to  the  adjoining.  These  openings 
should  have  the  same  aggregate  width  as  specified  above  for  exits 
generally,  but  none  should  be  more  than  8  feet  in  width  or  9  feet 
in  height.  The  doors  on  the  openings  should  be  of  such  design 
and  construction  that  when  closed  they  will  withstand  fire  with- 
out failure  for  at  least  thirty  minutes ;  if  arranged  to  stand  open 
for  any  time  they  must  be  provided  with  such  devices  that  will 
cause  them  to  close  automatically  in  case  of  fire  and  yet  will  not 
interfere  with  closing  them  by  hand  at  any  time.  In  non-fireproof 
buildings  such  walls  should  be  of  brick  at  least  8  inches  thick, 
increased  in  thickness  according  to  height  and  unbraced  length. 
In  fireproof  buildings  such  walls  should  be  of  brick,  concrete  or 
terra  cotta  at  least  8  inches  thick  or  reinforced  concrete  at  least 
3  inches  thick  if  of  stone  concrete  and  4  inches  thick  if  of  cinder 
concrete.  Each  section  formed  in  a  building  by  such  walls  must 
be  provided  with  at  least  one  staircase.  Some  supervision  and 
inspection  of  these  fire  walls  is  also  necessary.  It  is  important 
.  to  know  that  the  doors  are  in  working  order.  To  make  sure  of 
this  it  would  be  well  to  require  the  closing  of  them  at  the  close 
of  business  each  day.  It  is  necessary,  too,  to  keep  the  openings 
unobstructed  so  that  the  doors  can  close  at  any  time.  All  occu- 
pants should  be  instructed  how  to  shut  them  by  hand  and  to  do 
so  when  need  for  their  use  arises.  Under  these  circumstances 
a  liberal  reduction  in  stair  widths  may  be  made  as  follows : 

WHEN  FIRE  WALLS,  OF  SUCH  STRENGTH  AND  CONSTRUCTION 
AS  TO  RESIST  FIRE  FOR  AT  LEAST  THIRTY  MINUTES,  EQUIPPED 
WITH  ADEQUATE  OPENINGS  PROTECTED  BY  APPROVED  AUTOMATIC* 


714  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

FIRE  DOORS,  ARE  PROVIDED,  A  REDUCTION  or  THIRTY-THREE 
AND  ONE-THIRD  PER  CENT  IN  THE  AGGREGATE  WIDTH  SPECIFIED 
MAY  BE  MADE. 

The  effect  of  the  provisions  here  outlined  would  be  to  practically 
prohibit  the  use  of  tall  buildings  for  stores,  workshops  or  factories, 
etc.,  where  large  numbers  of  people  are  employed,  unless  the  same 
are  of  fireproof  construction  and  -equipped  with  fire  towers,  auto- 
matic sprinklers  and  fire  walls,  or  some  of  them.  These  several 
allowances  would  make  it  possible  to  reduce  the  required  widths  of 
staircases  to  such  an  extent  as  to  make  them  practicable.  If  all 
of  these  provisions  were  made  in  all  buildings  cited  above,  the 
staircases  would  in  all  cases  be  reduced  to  such  an  extent  that  only 
the  minimum  number  of  minimum  width  would  be  required  in 
the  five  examples  cited. 

The  provision  of  adequate  facilities  in  the  case  of  existing  build- 
ings is  not  so  simple  a  matter  unless  handled  in  a  drastic  manner. 
The  importance  of  it,  however,  would  justify  the  severest  require- 
ments. If  it  were  possible,  the  use  of  existing  buildings  for  store, 
workshop,  factory  or  similar  purposes,  should  be  prohibited  unless 
the  buildings  are  provided  with  the  exit  facilities  hereinbefore 
specified  for  new  buildings.  This  would  mean,  however,  the  aban- 
donment of  the  majority  of  buildings  now  in  use  for  such  purposes 
and  the  compulsory  equipment  of  practically  all  the  remainder 
with  automatic  sprinklers  or  fire  walls  and  enclosing  of  open  stair- 
ways. Something,  however,  must  be  done  to  improve  present  con- 
ditions. If  the  specific  requirements  outlined  above  cannot  be 
applied,  only  general  requirements  can  be  laid  down,  as  the  prob- 
lem varies  so  much  in  the  many  cases  to  be  considered.  Tlje  follow- 
ing principles  which  for  some  time  past  have  served  as  a  guide  in 
the  Bureau  of  Buildings  of  Manhattan,  may  furnish  a  basis  for 
more  definite  requirements : 

"  In  any  existing  non-fireproof  building  more  than  three  stories 
in  height,  used  for  business  purposes  above  the  first  story,  where 
the  exit  facilities  are  inadequate,  additional  safeguards  must  be 
provided. 

"First,  by  the  construction  of  an  interior  wall  of  fireproof  con- 
struction, properly  supported,  dividing  each  and  every  story  into 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  715 

two  or  more  sections,  and  having  the  necessary  openings  equipped 
with  fireproof  doors;  or 

"  Second,  by  the  enclosure  of  existing  stairways  and  entrance 
halls  in  suitable  fireproof  construction,  properly  supported,  with 
fireproof  doors  in  the  openings;  or 

'•  Third,  by  providing  a  safe  and  suitable  outside  iron  stair  con- 
struction, with  direct  access  to  the  street. 

"  In  existing  fireproof  buildings,  where  the  exit  facilities  are 
found  to  be  inadequate,  proper  provision  shall  be  made  by  the  en- 
closure of  open  stairways,  the  use  of  self-closing  fireproof  doors 
across  the  corridors;  and  the  construction  of  interior  partition  walls 
of  fireproof  construction,  having  the  necessary  openings  provided 
with  fireproof  doors." 

Bridges  across  yards  or  courts  from  one  building  to  another  are 
to  be  highly  commended. 

Outside  fire  escapes,  so-called,  are  not  to  be  considered  satis- 
factory, and  should  be  resorted  to  only  in  extreme  cases  where  it 
does  not  seem  possible  to  do  anything  better.  They  should  be  of 
substantial  construction,  of  ample  dimensions,  and  equipped  with 
a  well-designed  balanced  stairway  to  the  ground. 

All  outside  fire-escapes  are  open  to  the  following  objections: 
Inmates  are  not  accustomed  to  their  use  and  do  not  generally 
seek  them  except  as  a  last  resort.  They  do  not  allow  of  a  quick 
and  ready  means  of  escape,  as  persons  are  unaccustomed  to  them 
and  will  move  along  slowly,  thus  delaying  those  who  are  following. 
In  wintry  weather  they  are  liable  to  be  obstructed  by  snow  and 
ice,  and  when  covered  with  sleet  or  ice  become  unsafe  and  dan- 
gerous. Very  often  they  are  rendered  useless  because  of  smoke 
and  flame  issuing  from  the  windows  at  which  they  are  placed.  The 
means  of  getting  from  the  lowest  balcony  is  generally  the  least 
satisfactory  of  the  entire  equipment,  and  being  at  a  point  where 
it  is  most  needed  greatly  delays  quicjs  egress.  They  are  liable  to 
be  blocked  by  being  used  as  storage  platforms,  and  no  amount  of 
inspection  can  entirely  prevent  this  in  the  crowded  districts.  Nu- 


716  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

merous  instances  may  be  found  in  the  public  press  in  which 
inmates  seeking  fire-escapes  have  failed  to  know  what  to  do  and 
have  waited  for  the  Fire  Department  to  come  and  take  them  down. 
On  account  of  their  contracted  dimensions,  large  persons  have 
sometimes  found  difficulty  in  making  proper  use  of  them.  The  Fire 
Department  has  generally  advocated  their  use,  but  it  will  be  found 
that  this  advocacy  is  based  on  a  desire  to  have  a  means  of  getting 
into  the  building;  but  if  desirable  for  this  purpose,  then  they 
should  be  provided  as  such  and  not  offered  to  the  inmates  as  a 
satisfactory  means  of  egress. 

Having  provided  for  adequate  exit  facilities  in  buildings  for 
particular  conditions  of  occupancy,  it  becomes  necessary  to  guard 
against  changes  that  would  impair  the  safeguards  prescribed.  The 
most  effective  way,  applicable  to  both  new  and  existing  buildings, 
is  to  limit  the  number  of  persons  permitted  to  occupy  a  building 
at  any  one  time  to  that  which  can  be  accommodated  by  the  stair 
and  exit  facilities  calculated  by  the  rules  prescribed  herein  for 
new  buildings.  As  the  law  now  requires  (sec.  132  of  the  Building 
Code)  the  determination  and  posting  of  the  safe-carrying  capaci- 
ties for  all  floors  where  heavy  materials  are  stored,  or  machinery 
is  introduced,  so  it  should  provide  for  the  calculation  by  the  rules 
outlined  above  of  the  number  of  persons  to  be  accommodated  in 
any  building  where  manufacturing  is  done  or  where  large  num- 
bers of  people  are  liable  to  congregate.  Heavy  penalties,  vacation 
of  the  premises,  should  be  prescribed  for  any  excess  of  the  allow- 
able limit.  A  somewhat  similar  provision  was  suggested  during 
the  past  year  by  a  Commission  of  Experts  organized  by  the  New 
York  American  restricting  the  use  of  buildings  in  whole  or  in 
part  for  commercial  or  manufacturing  purposes  to  not  more  than 
twenty-five  persons  on  one  floor  at  any  one  time  unless  the  building 
were  equipped  with  certain  exit  facilities  as  described.  The  sug- 
gestion was  proposed  as  an  amendment  to  sec.  103  of  the  Building 
Code,  and  as  it  has  much  to  commend  it  I  attach  a  copy  to  this 
brief.  The  main  objection  to  the  amendment  as  proposed  is  that 
it  is  not  sufficiently  thoroughgoing. 

A  defect  in  our  present  law,  and  one  that  vitally  affects  the 
matter  under  consideration,  should  be  remedied  by  prohibiting  the 
occupancy  of  any  new  building  until  a  certificate  is  obtained  from 


BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  717 

the  Bureau  of  Buildings  designating  the  purpose  for  which  the 
building  was  designed  and  may  be  used,  and  the  number  of  people 
to  which  each  floor  is  limited  by  the  exit  facilities.  Coupled  with 
this  provision  there  must  be  another  making  it  unlawful  to  occupy 
any  building  in  a  manner  other  than  specified  in  the  certificate 
of  occupancy.  It  is  possible  under  the  present  law  to  secure  a 
permit  for  one  kind  of  a  building  and  to  use  that  building  for  an 
entirely  different  purpose  provided  no  material  alterations  are  made 
after  the  building  is  completed.  Even  minor  changes  such  as  the 
erection  of  partitions,  according  to  the  Corporation  Counsel,  do  not 
require  a  permit  from,  the  Bureau  of  Buildings,  and  hence  do  not 
make  a  change  of  occupancy  unlawful.  To  bring  existing  buildings 
also  under  the  operation  of  these  requirements,  it  should  be  pro- 
vided that  wherever  alterations,  repairs  or  enlargements  of  such 
buildings  are  made  or  intended,  permits  for  such  changes  shall  not 
be  granted  until  certificates  of  occupancy  shall  first  have  been  ob- 
tained, permitting  the  building  to  be  occupied  in  the  same  manner 
as  it  was  last  occupied  continuously  for  at  least  six  months  previous 
to  the  application.  This  is  necessary,  as  it  happens  not  infrequently 
that  in  order  to  avoid  making  certain  changes  required  by  law  in 
the  alteration  of  a  building,  the  occupancy  is  changed  just  before 
the  application  for  the  alteration  is  made. 

It  should  further  be  provided  that  as  soon  as  practicable  all  owners 
of  existing  buildings  shall  file  applications  for  certificates  of  oc- 
cupancy for  such  use  as  the  building  is  put  to  at  the  time  of  the 
application  or  its  last  actual  use.  To  complete  these  requirements 
as  to  occupancy,  it  should  be  provided  that  no  change  in  occupancy 
shall  be  made  hereafter  without  first  obtaining  a  proper  certificate, 
and  no  such  certificate  shail  be  issued  unless  the  building  complies 
with  or  shall  be  made  to  comply  with  all  the  legal  requirements  for 
the  proposed  new  occupancy. 

The  establishment  of  fire  drills  is  a  matter  worthy  of  some  con- 
sideration. It  seems  to  me,  however,  to  lose  its  importance,  if 
adequate  exit  facilities  and  other  safeguards  have  been  provided. 
Wherever  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  an  organized  fire  drill  will  no 
doubt  serve  an  excellent  purpose.  But  in  the  case  of  factories,  the 
difficulties  of  such  drills  are  more  than  proportionately  increased 
with  the  number  of  separate  concerns  occupying  any  building,  until 


718  BEIEFS  AND  MEMOEANDA. 

in  very  many  cases  it  becomes  a  matter  of  practical  impossibility. 
What  can  and  should  be  done,  however,  in  all  factories  is  the  in- 
Hr action,  by  posted  notices,  by  circulars,  by  repeated  oral  announce- 
ments, etc.,  of  all  employees  and  occupants  as  to  the  location  of 
exits,  stairs,  the  use  of  safeguards  against  loss  of  life  by  fire,  the 
means  provided  for  the  extinguishment  of  fire  and  all  other  matters 
that  will  aid  in  saving  life  or  avoiding  panic.  The  testimony  of 
many  of  the  workers  in  the  Triangle  Waist  factory  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  factory  employees  do  not 
know  what  is  provided  for  their  safety. 

By  the  enactment  of  the  so-called  Fire  Prevention  Bill,  Chap. 
899,  Laws  of  1911,  the  recent  Legislature  has  transferred  the  jur- 
isdiction over  exit  facilities,  to  the  Fire  Department,  treating  it  as 
a  matter  of  fire  prevention.  This  I  consider  a  mistake,  the  evil 
effects  of  which  are  not  yet  apparent,  but  will  undoubtedly  appear 
later  when  the  new  bureau  is  organized.  The  introduction  of  ade- 
quate exit  facilities  into  new  buildings  is  a  matter  so  closely  related 
to  the  design  and  construction  of  the  building  that  it  should  come 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  same  official  who  administers  the 
Building  Law.  The  hardship  inflicted  on  an  owner  or  builder,  by 
the  ordering  of  exit  facilities  by  some  other  authority  than  the 
Bureau  of  Buildings,  may  be  indicated  by  an  illustration.  A  new 
building  is  to  be  erected,  let  us  say,  for  factory  purposes.  Plans 
are  submitted  as  required  by  law  to  the  Bureau  of  Buildings.  The 
exit  facilities  are  arranged  as  the  applicant  understands  the  law. 
Perhaps  they  are  amended  and  re-arranged  to  meet  the  objections 
of  the  Bureau  of  Buildings.  The  building  is  erected  in  accordance 
with,  the  approved  plan,  and  is  occupied.  The  Fire  Department 
inspects,  and  in  it*  judgment  requires  additional  exit  facilities.  Can 
any  builder  or  owner  be  sure  that  he  won't  have  to  rebuild  or  en- 
large when  he  is  erecting  a  new  structure  ?  Or,  again,  in  an  exist- 
ing building  additional  facilities  are  called  for.  To  provide  them 
alterations  in  the  building  are  necessary  and  plans  are  filed  with 
the  Bureau  of  Buildings.  It  is  possible  that  in  the  examination  of 
the  plans  that,  for  structural  reasons,  they  are  impracticable,  or 
perhaps  even  only  very  expensive.  A  modification  of  the  plans 
could  make  the  work  quite  possible  without  sacrificing  safety.  The 
Bureau  is  without  authority  to  permit  changes  in  the  other  Depart- 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  719 

ruent's  orders.  The  necessary  passing  back  and  forth  between  the 
two  Departments,  would  not  only  be  troublesome  to  both  Depart- 
ment" and  the  applicant,  but  would  also  mean  additional  delay  in 
providing  the  exit  facilities.  Besides,  the  responsibility  over  the 
work  is  not  so  readily  placed  as  when  only  one  Department  has 
jurisdiction. 

The  difficulties  here  illustrated  might  be  endured  if  any  advant- 
age were  obtained  by  the  double  authority.  The  Fire  Department 
has  not  at  the  present  time  the  force  to  handle  this  work,  and  must 
organize  a  force  to  do  it.  It  is  less  trouble  for  the  Bureau  of 
Buildings  to  do  the  same  thing,  with  the  advantage  that  its  past 
experience  in  thk  kind  of  work  fits  it  better  for  a  proper  enforce- 
ment of  requirements. 

In  summarizing,  I  wish  to  emphasize  the  following  points: 

Radical  measures,  putting  to  test  the  courage  of  your  Commis- 
sion, are  necessary  for  a  proper  solution  of  the  question  of  the 
safety  of  factory  workers  and  others  against  fire. 

Systematic  inspection  to  see  that  safe  conditions  are  maintained 
should  be  provided. 

Ample  authority  should  be  given  to  the  administrative  officer 
to  secure  compliance  with  the  provisions  of  law. 

The  necessary  exit  facilities  and  physical  safeguards  should  be 
prescribed  in  sufficient  detail  to  fix  a  safe  standard. 

The  number  of  occupants  should  be  limited  by  law  in  accordance 
with  the  exit  facilities  provided. 

The  occupancy  of  a  ne\\  building  or  the  change  of  occupancy  of 
an  existing  building  should  be  prohibited  until  a  certificate  has 
been  issued  by  the  proper  authority. 

Fire  drills,  or  at  least  adequate  instructions  to  employees  -as  to 
safeguarding  life,  should  bs  demanded  in  all  workshops  and  factories. 

The  jurisdiction  over  exit  facilities  and  inspection  in  connection 
therewith  should  be  vested  with  the  same  officials  that  administer 
the  Building  Law. 

Appended  hereto  are  tables,  abstracts,  etc.,  that  may  have  some 
bearing  on  the  subject-matter  discussed  in  this  brief. 

Respectfully, 

RUDOLPH  P.  MILLER, 

Superintendent  of 


720  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

NOTE  I. 

ExTEACT   FROM  A   PROPOSED   ORDINANCE   RECOMMENDED  BY  A 
COMMISSION  ORGANIZED  BY  THE  NEW  YORK  AMERICAN. 

In  no  building  now  erected  or  hereafter  to  be  erected,  used 
either  in  whole  or  in  part  for  commercial  or  manufacturing  pur- 
poses, shall  more  than  twenty-five  persons  be  employed  or  permitted 
to  work  at  any  one  time  on  any  floor  above  the  second  story  from 
the  street  unless  such  building  shall  be  provided  and  equipped  with 
two  independent  means  of  exit  from  each  floor,  which  two  inde- 
pendent ments  of  exit  shall  either  be  provided  in  one  or  more  of 
the  ways  hereinafter  described  as  (A),  (B)  and  (C). 

(A).  On  each  floor  above  the  fifth  story  there  shall  be  a  passage- 
way from  such  building  to  another  contiguous  or  nearby  building, 
by  means  of  outside  balconies  or  bridges,  and  at  least  two  windows 
opening  upon  each  such  balcony  or  bridge  shall  extend  down  to 
the  floor. 

(B).  Building  shall  be  divided  from  cellar  to  roof  into  two  or 
more  sections  by  the  erection  of  fire-resisting  walls  or  partitions, 
and  each  section  shall  have  its  own  separate  stairs  from  roof  to 
ground  and  at  least  four  feet  wide,  with  treads  not  less  than  seven 
inches  wide  in  the  narrowest  part.  Access  from  one  section  to 
another  at  each  story  above  the  ground  floor  shall  be  provided  by 
outside  balconies  or  through  fireproof  vestibules.  No  partition  shall 
be  erected  within  five  feet  of  exit  doors  leading  to  stairways  or 
elevators. 

(C).  Buildings  shall  be  equipped  and  provided  with  a  stairway 
completely  surrounded  from  top  to  bottom  by  fire-resisting  mate- 
rials, reached  at  each  story  only  by  outside  balconies  or  bridges, 
and  having  an  outside  dooway  at  the  ground.  Such  stairways  shall 
be  built  either  within  the  building  or  in  turrets  or  towers  attached  to 
or  separate  from  the  building,  or,  when  such  safety  stairway  follows 
a  blank  wall  and  is,  in  the  judgment  of  the  Fire  Commissioner, 
sufficiently  distant  from  windows,  it  may  be  enclosed  by  a  wire 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  721 

netting.  Such  stairways  shall  be  at  least  four  feet  wide,  with  treads 
not  less  than  seven  inches  wide  in  the  narrowest  part.  Inclined 
spiral  chutes  may  be  substituted  for  stairways  in  such  turrets  or 
towers. 

NOTE  II. 

SPECIFICATIONS  FOE  FIRE  TOWEES. 

Fire  towers  shall  have  their  walls  constructed  of  brick  not  less 
than  eight  inches  thick,  or  reinforced  concrete  not  less  than  six 
inches  thick.  Such  towers  shall  have  no  direct  connection  with  the 
interior  of  the  building,  but  access  thereto  from  the  building  shall 
be  had  on  every  floor  through  outside  balconies  or  through  fireproof 
vestibules,  such  vestibules  opening  on  a  court  not  less  than  24 
square  feet  in  area.  Such  outside  connecting  balconies  and  vesti- 
bules shall  be  at  least  as  wide  as  the  requisite  exit  width  which 
they  serve  but  in  no  case  less  than  40  inches  wide  clear  of  all  ob- 
structions and  shall  be  built  of  non-combustible  materials  and  shall 
have  solid  doors  and  substantial  rails.  Such  balconies  or  vestibules 
shall  be  level  with  the  floors  and  the  platforms  of  stairs  they  serve. 
Where  vestibules  are  used  to  connect  to  smokeproof  stair  towers 
there  shall  be  self-closing  fireproof  doors  separating  such  vestibules 
both  from  the  building  and  from  the  stairs. 

NOTE  III. 

FIRE-ESCAPES  HANDLED  BY  THE  BUREAU  OF  BUILDINGS  OF 
MANHATTAN  SINCE  ITS  OEGANIZATION  IN  1902. 


Year 
1902  

Fire  Escape 
Oases  filed 

1,711 

Complied    Corporation 
witih              Counsel 

3,707               810 
1,409               167 
621               208 
376               114 
196                 12 
564               178 

1903        

1,025 

1904  

532 

1905            

341 

1906            

418 

1907.  . 

701 

722  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Fire  Escape       Complied     Corporation 
Year  Cases  tiled  with  Counsel 

1908 922  1,172  361 

1909 496  565  287 

1910 872  821  241 

1911 438  162  91 

(Jan.  1-Mar.  25) 

1911 3,128  1,317  296 

(Mar.  25-Oct.  19) 

1911 287  553  140 

(After  Oct.  19) 

The  information  with  regard  to  the  cases  filed  in  1911  is  given 
in  the  form  as  shown  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  Commis- 
sion. The  Triangle  Waist  fire  occurred  on  March  25th,  and  the 
cases  filed  up  to  that  point  are  given  apart  from  those  filed  later 
On  October  19th  the  new  Fire  Prevention  Law  went  into  effect. 
The  Corporation  Counsel  has  advised  that  all  cases  filed  after  that 
date  by  the  Bureau  of  Buildings  are  without  authority  of  law  and 
invalid.  The  287  cases  filed  after  that  date  were  filed  because  the 
Bureau  was  not  advised  until  the  latter  part  of  November  of  the 
effact  of  the  law  and  it  was  felt  that  the  activities  of  the  Bureau 
should  not  be  lessened  until  it  was  definitely  known  what  authority 
still  remaining  with  the  Bureau  over  exit  facilities. 

NOTE  IV. 

STATEMENT  OF  FIRE-ESCAPE  ORDERS  PENDING  IN  THE  BUREAU 
OF  BUILDINGS,  MANHATTAN,  ON  DECEMBER  31,  1911. 

In  hands  of 
Oases        Corporation 
Year  pending          Counsel 

1905 1  1 

1906 2  2 

1907 5  4 

1908 5  2 

1909  . 13  10 


BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  723 

In  hands  of 
Cases        Corporation 
Year  pending          Counsel 

1910 75  47 

1911 2,156  218 


2,257  284 

Cases  filed  since  Oct.  19 . .  287 


Cases  pending 1,970  284 


In  the  above  statement  the  287  cases  filed  after  October  19th 
are  deducted  as  the  Corporation  Counsel  has  advised  that  these  were 
filed  without  authority  of  law  and  are  invalid.  Many  of  the  1,970 
pending  cases  are  now  being  complied  with,  but  the  work  has  not 
yet  been  completed  so  that  the  cases  cannot  be  dismissed. 

NOTE  V. 

PISE-ESCAPE  OBDEBS  ISSUED   BY  THE   BUBEAU  OF  BUILDINGS, 
MANHATTAN,  FBOM  JANUABY  IST  TO  OOTOBEB  19TH, 
1911,  SHOWING  THE  CHABACTEB  OF  OCCU- 
PANCY OF  THE  BUILDINGS. 

Workshops 1,746 

Lofts 423 

Store  and  Office 405 

Store  and  Dwelling 154 

Store  and  Tenement 6 

Warehouse  and  Storage 75 

Stable  and  Garage 107 

Hotels 250 

Place  of  Assembly 238 

Schools 81 

Churches,  Synagogues,  Missions,  Etc 25 

Nurseries 28 

Hospitals 28 


724  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

The  expression  "  workshops  "  is  used  for  such  buildings  as  are 
entirely  occupied  either  as  factories  or  workshops.  Lofts  are  such 
buildings  which  may  be  used  for  any  commercial  purpose,  and 
many  of  the  buildings  here  classified  as  lofts  are  used  in  part  as 
workshops  or  factories. 

NOTE  VI. 

COMPLAINTS  RECEIVED  BY  BUREAU  OF  BUILDINGS. 

Of  464  cases  inspected  by  this  Bureau  for  exit  facilities  during 
the  first  three  months  of  1911,  attention  was  called  to  the  same 
by  complaints  from  several  sources,  as  follows : 

Prom  the  Department  of  Labor 68 

From  the  Fire  Department 60 

From  the  Tenement  House  Department 7 

From   Individuals 35 

Discovered  by  Inspectors  of  this  Bureau 294 


Total  .  ...    464 


The  above  statement  does  not  include  the  list  of  14,000  build- 
ings reported  by  the  Fire  Department  in  February,  1911.  An 
analysis  of  this  list  is  given  in  Note  VII. 

NOTE  VII. 

REPORT  TO  PRESIDENT  McANENY  ON  CERTAIN  COMPLAINTS 
MADE  BY  THE  FIRE  DEPARTMENT. 

August  18,  1911. 

HON.    GEORGE   McANENY,   President   of  the   Borough   of  Man- 
hattan: 

DEAR  SIR: 

You  will  recall  that  sometime  toward  the  end  of  last  year  Mr. 
Waldo,  then  Fire  Commissioner,  made  the  statement  that  there 
were  a  very  large  number  of  buildings  in  the  City  of  New  York 
not  properly  equipped  with  fire-escapes. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  725 

Although  lie  had  no  jurisdiction  or  responsibility  in  the  mat- 
ter, yet  because  of  his  statements  in  connection  with  it,  you  wrote 
him  stating  you  would  be  glad  to  have  his  co-operation  in  investi- 
gating the  question  of  inadequacy  of  exit  facilities.  He  felt  that 
having  a  large  force  at  his  command  he  could  make  inspections 
in  a  very  short  time  and  determine  very  quickly  what  was  neces- 
sary in  the  way  of  additional  exit  facilities  on  buildings  in  the 
City  of  -N'ew  York. 

On  February  8,  11)11,  1  received  from  the  Fire  Department  a 
list  of  a  little  over  13,000  buildings  on  which  it  was  recommended 
that  tire-escapes  should  be  provided.  In  addition  to  this,  other 
list*  were  later  furnished,  making  altogether  a  list  of  14,393 
buildings  on  which  lire-esapes  were  recommended. 

As  soon  as  1  could  arrange  to  do  so,  1  organized  a  systematic 
inspection  of  all  the  buildings  reported  in  the  list.  You  will 
appreciate,  of  course,  that  this  was  a  considerable  burden  on  the 
inspection  force  of  the  Bureau,  inasmuch  as  this  Bureau  is  not 
charged  with  the  duty  of  examining  buildings  after  they  are  com- 
pleted, but  does  this  only  on  complaint.  Fourteen  thousand  com- 
plaints coming  in  at  one  time  of  course  was  a  very  difficult  task. 
The  inspections  have  been  made  since  February  at  the  rate  of 
about  one  hundred  a  day,  which,  when  the  other  duties  of  the  in- 
spection force  are  taken  into  consideration,  seems  to  me  a  very 
good  showing.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  examinations 
made  by  the  inspectors  of  this  Bureau  could  not  be  the  cursory 
examinations  evidently  made  by  the  employees  of  the  Fire  Depart- 
ment. When  an  order  is  issued  by  this  Bureau,  a  full  descrip- 
tion of  the  premises  and  an  exact  outline  of  the  work  required 
must  be  served  upon  the  owners.  This,  you  will  readily  see, 
involves  considerable  work,  so  that  I  feel  that  the  work  has  been 
done  very  promptly.  As  far  as  I  can  judge  from  the  list  of  build- 
ings reported  by  the  Fire  Department,  the  extent  of  the  examina- 
tions made  by  the  firemen  was  to  see  whether  a  building  was 
provided  with  outside  fire-escapes,  and  if  not  simply  to  call  for 
si  ch. 

Xow  that  the  work  is  completed,  I  should  like  to  submit  to 
you  the  following  analysis  of  these  complaints  received  from  the 
Fire  Department: 


726  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Total  number  of  complaints  received 14,393 

Of  these: 

Buildings  not  requiring  fire-escapes  under  sec- 
tion 103 9,205 

Buildings  reported  but  already  having  sufficient 

means  of  egress 2,245 


Total  buildings  no  cause  for  complaint 11,450 

Buildings  requiring  better  means  of  escape  on 

which  cases  were  filed 1,503 

Buildings  on  which  the  necessary  orders  for 

fire-escapes  were   already   pending 579 

Buildings  not  within  the  jurisdiction  of  this  bureau: 

Tenements 626 

Government   building  .  .  .   1 

Dock  Department 1 

628 

Duplicate  buildings  reported 114 

Miscellaneous  conditions : 

Buildings  in  course  of  demolition 28 

Buildings  in  course  of  erection 16 

Buildings  —  no  such  numbers 10 

Vacant  lots 5 

59 


Total  number  of  inspections  made 14,393 


Respectfully, 
(Signed)     RUDOLPH  P.  MILLER, 

Superintendent  of  Buildings. 

NOTE  VIII. 

CHARACTER  OF  ORDERS  ISSUED  BY  THE  BUREAU  OF  BUILDINGS 
FOR  IMPROVING  EXIT  FACILITIES. 

As  illustrating  the  variety  of  the  orders  issued  by  this  Bureau 
to  improve  exit  facilities  in  buildings,  the  following  memorandum 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  727 

applying  to  the   cases  filed  in  the  first  three  months   of   3911 
against  factories  alone,  is  submitted: 

Provide  fireproof  stairways 8 

Enclose  stairways  in  fireproof  walls 74 

Enclose  elevator  shafts  in  fireproof  construction 2 

Provide   fireproof   passageways 8 

Remove  obstructions  to  exits 55 

Provide  self-closing  fireproof  doors 16 

Extend  fire-escape  balconies 6 

Replace  vertical  ladders  by  stairs 8 

Provide  exit  signs 1 

Provide  outside  stairs 1 

Remove  locks  from  doors 3 

Remove  wooden  flooring  from  fire-escape  balconies 2 

Provide  guard  rails  along  stairs  of  fire-escapes 6 

Cut  exit  openings  in  fences 1 

Provide  landing  platforms  at  foot  of  fire-escapes 7 

Cut   doorways 2 

Repair   stairs 2 

Provide   proper   exit 1 

Make  doors  swing  outward 22 

Provide  drop  ladders 6 

Enlarge  windows  to  fire-escapes 2 

Enlarge  wellholes  of  fire-escapes 1 

Provide  iron  bridge 1 

Remove  obstructions  from  fire-escapes 1 


728  BRIEFS  AISTD  MEMORANDA. 

MEMORANDUM    OF    COMMITTEE    OF    NEW    YORK 
CHAPTER  OF  AMERICAN  INSTITUTE  OF  ARCHI- 
TECTS   ON    CONSTRUCTION    OF    FACTORY 
BUILDINGS  AND  THE  FIRE  PROBLEM. 

Comments  on  Questions  Concerning  Methods  for  Improving  the 
Conditions  under  which  Manufacturing  is  Carried  on  in  the 
Cities  of  the  First  and  Second  Class  of  the  State. 

NEW  YORK,  December  18,  1911. 

In  giving  thought  to  the  safety  of  buildings  in  which  large 
numbers  of  workers  are  employed  it  would  be  a  mistake  not  to  con- 
sider the  workers  themselves.  Many  of  them  come  from  Southern 
Europe  —  taught  by  their  fellows  to  believe  that  every  man's  hand 
is  against  'them,  and  that  most  devices  for  their  protection  are 
schemes  of  the  well-to-do  for  their  undoing.  Hysterical  and  dis- 
traught under  unusual  or  seemingly  dangerous  conditions  they  are 
hard  to  control,  and  this  makes  it  necessary  that  the  methods  of 
escape  must  be  simple  and  direct  and  without  any  complications 
whatever  that  might  require  of  them  any  intelligence  or  judgment. 

The  necessity  for  factories  employing  this  class  of  help  in  this 
city  is  probably  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  employers  have  no 
choice  as  to  the  location  of  their  factories,  for  they  must  be  where 
labor  is  available. 

If  we  are  to  continue  to  allow  manufacturing  in  high  buildings, 
for  the  reasons  given,  the  method  of  making  them  safe  for  this 
(purpose  must  not  be  complicated  or  workable  if  this  or  that  is  done, 
or  if  this  or  that  device  happens  to  be  in  good  order. 

Should  the  laws  be  so  restrictive  in  this  matter  as  to  drive  the 
employers  from  the  city,  the  loss  would  not  be  without  compen- 
sation, for  it  would  force  these  people  into  the  outlying  country 
where  their  condition  in  all  respects  would  be  better,  and  where 
their  assimilation  with  our  own  people  would  be  more  rapid  and 
prevent  the  always  present  menace  to  our  community,  politically, 
socially  and  morally,  that  obtains  by  reason  of  their  hiving  together 
with  their  own  kind  and  a  continuance  of  their  old  world  beliefs, 
habits  and  prejudices. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  Y29 

A  given  number  of  American-bred  workers  would  avail 
themselves  of  the  means  of  safety  provided  without  loss 
of  life,  whereas,  an  equal  number  of  the  class  usually 
employed  would  not  escape  without  great  sacrifices,  and 
this  difference  may  be  due  wholly  to  a  difference  in  tem- 
perament. When  disastrous  fires  occur  in  fireproof  buildings, 
it  is  believed  by  many  that  the  fault  lies  with  the  construction. 
It  is  manifest  to  all  that  building  construction  of  any  type  cannot 
prevent  the  burning  of  inflammable  materials  in  such  a  building. 
It  is  also  manifest  that  with  a  sufficient  quantity  of  this  inflam- 
mable material  in  a  building  the  heat  generated  by  its  burning 
would  destroy  any  structure,  no  matter  what  system  of  fireproof 
construction  as  yet  devised  might  be  used. 

Ingenuity  would  seem  tc  be  exhausted  in  the  devices  and  meth- 
ods now  in  use  for  the  making  of  buildings  fireproof.  But  there 
still  remains  the  inflammability  of  the  goods  housed  therein  as  a 
menace  to  life  and  also  to  the  fireproof  structure  itself.  Our  mod- 
ern buildings  are  almost  veritable  crucibles,  but  we  have  appar- 
ently reached  the  limit  in  our  endeavor  to  prevent  their  collapse 
under  the  application  of  the  'intense  heat  from  burning  mer- 
chandise. 

We,  therefore,  are  forced  to  consider  the  most  positive  means 
of  sufficiently  retarding  or  quenching  a  fire  in  the  merchandisa 
stored  so  as  to  enable  the  operatives  to  escape.  The  answer  to  this 
is  the  mandatory  requirement  of  the  application  of  a  sprinkler 
system  and  the  frequent  inspection  of  the  system  by  the  proper 
municipal  department. 

By  enforcing  this  requirement  there  is  no  injury  done  to  the 
investor  in  this  class  of  real  estate,  as  the  reduction  of  insurance 
premiums  is  so  great  on  both  the  building  and  contents  that  they 
insure  a  very  large  interest  return  on  the  cost  of  this  equipment. 

Our  laws  require  aisles  for  audience  rooms.  The  law  should  also 
provide  for  aisles  between  the  machines,  and  prohibit  the  obstruc- 
tion of  these  aisles. 

The  law  should  limit  the  number  of  employees  allowed  for  each 
loft,  and  the  number  allowed  should  be  posted  as  is  the  number 
of  pounds  per  square  foot  allowed  as  a  live  lead.  The  privilege  as 
to  the  number  of  employees  should  be  flexible,  as  the  manufactur- 


730  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ing  engaged  in  requires  more  or  less  obstruction  of  the  space  with 
the  materials  used.  All  waste  material  should  be  removed  at 
stated  periods  and  not  allowed  to  accumulate  to  create  a  fire  menace. 

The  building  laws  prescribe  the  plan  for  theatres.  The  plan 
thus  controlling  provides  open-air  side  courts  as  exits. 

If  in  the  interest  of  public  safety  this  arbitrary  provision  of  the 
law  is  not  considered  an  unjust  infringement  upon  the  rights  of 
property  owners  any  like  restriction  in  behalf  of  the  safety  of 
operatives  in  a  loft  building  cannot  be  viewed  otherwise  than  just 
and  proper.  In  many  loft  buildings  there  are  more  people  em- 
ployed than  can  be  accommodated  in  our  theatres,  and  their  situa- 
tion is  much  more  dangerous  by  reason  of  the  greater  height  of 
the  buildings. 

Side  courts  as  required  for  theatres,  with  open-air  galleries  access- 
ible from  the  several  lofts,  these  galleries  leading  to  stairways 
entirely  disconnected  from  the  lofts,  would  provide  the  maximum 
of  safety  as  exits. 

The  open-air  side  courts  also  help  to  answer  the  question  of 
ventilation  for  the  lofts,  as  they  will  insure  the  exposure  of  four 
sides  of  each  loft  to  the  open  air.  If  the  law  should  require  the 
side  courts  to  extend  fully  to  the  rear  of  the  building  and  without 
obstruction  connect  with  the  open  space  usually  reserved  for  light 
in  the  rear,  it  would  allow  the  greater  diffusion  of  smoke  and  not 
make  the  court  galleries  impracticable  as  exits,  as  might  be  if  the 
courts  were  not  continuous  and  thereby  causing  them  to  act  as 
great  flues. 

It  may  be  argued  that  this  requirement  would  so  reduce  the 
usable  space  on  the  floors  on  a  given  area  of  lot  as  to  make  the 
rental  for  manufacturing  purposes  impossible.  While  I  do  not 
think  this  is  true,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  if  the  result  would  be 
the  driving  of  the  workers  from  the  crowded  tenements  to  the  out- 
lying country  where  the  factories  in  which  they  are  employed 
could  have  the  light  and  air  assured  by  the  modern  construction 
now  standard  it  would  be  of  the  greatest  value  to  the  workers  and 
the  community  at  large. 

No  reasonable  sacrifice  of  available  area  of  the  property  must 
stand  in  the  way  of  the  perfect  safety  of  the  plans  of  new  build- 
ings as  to  stairways,  side  courts  and  exits. 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  731 

We  unhesitatingly  demand  of  property  owners  a  proper  allow- 
ance of  their  land  for  light  and  air  for  our  habitations  to  conserve 
the  health  of  our  people.  We  may,  with  equal  justice,  demand  that 
factory  buildings  shall  be  built  with  due  consideration  for  the  lives 
of  the  workers  employed  therein.  It  remains  only  to  adopt  the 
most  feasible  plan  of  their  arrangement  to  insure  time  for  a  safe 
exit,  and  for  the  smothering  of  fire  in  the  merchandise. 

This  subject  so  far  as  it  relates  to  buildings  already  constructed 
has  added  difficulties.  It  would  seem  necessary  almost  to  consider 
each  building  separately,  for  the  conditions  vary  with  each  one. 
An  official  certificate  of  occupancy  stating  the  conditions  under 
which  the  building  may  be  used  is,  perhaps,  a  method  by  which 
the  least  hardship  and  injustice  may  be  imposed  upon  the  owner, 
not  forgetting  that  he  invested  his  money  in  a  manner  then  ap- 
proved by  the  law,  and  is  innocent  of  any  intentional  wrong. 

By  the  thoughtless  or  envious  it  is  too  frequently  supposed  that 
property  in  any  form  represents  luxury  and  idleness,  whereas,  it 
represents  in  the  larger  proportion  of  the  real  estate  the  savings  of 
the  industrious  worker,  either  still  striving  or  gone  to  his  fathers, 
leaving  only  a  modest  independence  for  those  deprived  of  the  bene- 
fits of  his  active  labor,  with  constantly  increasing  taxation  and  with 
restrictive  laws,  in  many  cases  where  the  equities  are  small  the  re- 
sult of  mandatory  laws  compelling  reconstruction  will  mean  con- 
fiscation. 

Certificates  of  occupancy  should,  of  course,  vary  as  to  the  privi- 
leges granted  under  them  in  conformity  with  the  area  of  the  build- 
ing —  its  height  —  facility  of  escape  in  cases  of  fire.  These  varia- 
tions will  range  from  absolute  prohibition  of  its  use  for  manufac- 
turing to  the  maximum  number  of  employees  allowed  for  the  area 
of  its  floors. 

Owners  may  then  add  at  their  option  such  safety  of  construction 
as  seems  wise  to  them  for  the  purpose  of  securing  a  more  favorable 
certificate  of  occupancy,  and  thereby  increasing  the  returns  from 
their  property.  This  same  method  is  now  employed  in  fixing  rates 
for  fire  insurance.  It  is  also  applied  in  regulating  the  live  loads 
which  may  be  safely  carried  by  the  floor  construction  of  buildings. 
It  would  seem  that  this  system  of  regulation  would  be  less  ob- 
jectionable than  the  arbitrary  enforcement  of  any  particular  re- 


732  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

quirements  for  all  buildings,  as  it  would  allow  each  building  to 
stand  on  its  own  merits  of  area,  height,  construction,  location  and 
juxtaposition  with  others  of  varying  dangerous  character. 

Doors  to  fire-tower  enclosures  opening  directly  from  the  lofts 
should  be  prohibited,  for  the  reason  that  these  doors  when  opened 
as  a  means  of  escape  from  a  burning  loft  fill  the  stairway  enclosure 
with  smoke  and  make  it  impossible  of  use  for  the  occupants  of  all 
other  lofts  above  the  one  burning.  For  this  reason  there  should 
be  exits  from  all  lofts  directly  to  the  open-air  balconies  and  from 
these  to  the  fireproof  stairway  enclosure. 

There  seems  to  be,  however,  no  scheme  of  construction  or  ar- 
rangement of  stairs  and  exits  that  will  safely  provide  against  the 
contingency  of  fainting,  helpless  women,  whose  falling  blocks  the 
ways  of  egress. 

Differentiating  between  the  safety  of  occupants  in  our  high 
office  buildings  and  apartment  houses,  and  those  used  for  manufac- 
turing purposes  we  know  that  in  offices  and  apartments  there  is 
not  enough  inflammable  material  to  affect  the  structure  if  this 
material  should  burn  out  without  interference,  whereas,  the  con- 
ditions in  a  loft  building  are  usually  the  reverse.  We  are  too  will- 
ing to  believe  that  since  the  modern  high  structures  are  practicable 
for  certain  uses  they  are  for  all. 

The  number  and  width  of  stairways  and  final  exits  are  neces- 
sarily limited,  and  this  limit  should  establish  the  number  of  people 
to  be  safely  employed  in  one  building. 

The  speed  of  movement  through  a  given  width  of  .passage  and 
stairway  can  be  determined  by  experiment  and  should  control  the 
number  of  people  who  must  escape  by  use  of  such  passage  or 
stairway.  By  such  experiment  it  would  seem  that  the  height  of 
buildings  for  manufacturing  purposes  could  be  determined. 

It  must  also  be  remembered  that  physical  endurance  places  a 
limit  on  the  number  of  flights  of  stairs  that  a  person  of  average 
physical  condition  can  descend  even  under  circumstances  of  great 
necessity.  Their  failure  to  proceed  when  their  endurance  gives 
out  will  cause  an  unusual  congestion  on  the  staircases,  and  defeat 
what  might  otherwise  appear  to  be  a  safe  condition. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  733 

If  we  must  have  factories  in  high  buildings,  perhaps  the  ideal 
plan  for  the  occupation  of  a  city  block  would  be  that  of  allowing 
the  full  occupation  of  the  lot  by  the  cellars  and  ground  floors,  with 
the  present  system  of  offsets  in  the  rear  wall  of  the  upper  stories 
providing  for  light  and  air.  Adding  to  this,  open-air  side  coufts 
connected  with  the  space  in  the  rear;  so  constructing  the  roofs 
over  the  rears  of  the  ground  floors  to  give  light  for  the  stores  below 
and  form  a  continuous  thoroughfare  through  the  block  for  escape 
m  case  of  fire  in  any  of  the  several  buildings.  Should  stairways 
also  be  necessary  in  the  rear  as  well  as  the  front  they  could  be 
entirely  separated  from  the  lofts  and  lead  down  to  and  connect 
with  the  thoroughfare  in  the  rear  of  the  buildings. 

As  a  protection  to  property  owners  any  law  controlling  these 
matters  should  provide  for  an  appeal  from  the  decision  of  any 
bureau  having  in  charge  the  execution  of  the  law,  so  that  the 
merits  of  each  case  could  have  more  thorough  consideration  than 
is  possible  to  be  given  by  the  chief  of  such  bureau,  -and  thus  avoid 
unreasonable  expense  being  forced  upon  the  owner  by  reason  of 
his  case  being  decided  under  the  general  provisions  of  the  law 
rather  than  on  the  conditions  existing  in  each  particular  case. 
It  may  frequently  occur  that  safer  conditions  could  be  provided 
than  those  stipulated  by  the  code  and  with  less  embarrassment 
to  the  owner  of  the  property.  If  appeal  could  be  made  to  a 
board  of  arbitrators  composed  of  professional  men,  disinterested 
and  so  technically  trained  as  to  be  familiar  with  the  subject,  the 
injustice  of  arbitrary  requirements  would  be  less  frequent  and 
burdensome  on  the  property  that  now  practically  bears  the  entire 
expense  of  the  administration  of  the  municipality. 

ANSWERS  TO  SPECIFIC  QUESTIONS:* 
Question  65: 

Smoking  in  lofts  where  inflammable  goods  are  being  manufac- 
tured should  be  prohibited,  and  the  occupant  required  to  post  notices 
to  this  effect;  but  for  this  offense  to  be  made  a  crime,  by  law, 
seems  an  unnecessary  addition  to  the  already  rapidly  increasing 
number  of  restrictions  of  our  personal  liberties.  It  may  be  safely 
left  to  the  employer  as  a  matter  of  discipline  in  his  establishment. 

*  See  Questionnaire,  p.  588. 


734  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Question  66: 

Wooden  partitions  should  not  be  allowed  in  any  buildings  classed 
as  fireproof ;  and  in  buildings  not  so  classed  as  fireproof,  the  parti- 
tions should  be  constructed  of  any  of  the  several  types  of  non- 
inflammable  material. 

Question  67-A: 

The  automatic  sprinkler  system  is  probably  tHe  only  effective 
method  of  retarding  or  smothering  a  fire  in  merchandise.  The  use 
of  gases  is  not  practicable  on  account  of  their  effect  upon  the 
occupants. 

Question  67-B: 

Exits  from  lofts  and  those  to  fire-escapes  should  be  made  con- 
spicuous either  by  lights  or  the  color  used  in  painting  such  exits. 

Question  67 -C : 

All  doors  and  sash  forming  exits  from  lofts  and  those  to  fire- 
escapes  should  be  made  of  metal. 

Question  67-D: 

Windows  leading  to  fire-escapes  should  not  be  glazed  with  wire 
glass  unless  the  sashes  are  hinged  and  open  outward,  otherwise 
should  the  opening  mechanism  get  out  of  order,  escape  would  be 
made  with  great  difficulty,  and  perhaps  impossible. 

Question  68: 

Owners  or  occupants  should  be  allowed  to  make  minor  changes 
in  the  arrangement  of  their  premises  without  the  necessity  of 
filing  complete  plans  of  the  whole  building;  but  the  owner  or 
occupant  should  not  be  allowed  to  make  such  minor  changes  with- 
out the  consent  of  the  department  in  control  of  matters  of  this 
kind. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  735 

Questions  69,  10,  11,  72: 

For  buildings  of  questionable  safety  fire  drill  would  undoubtedly 
improve  conditions  and  should  be  mandatory,  except  for  buildings 
having  adequate  provision  for  safety.  A  mandatory  law,  applying 
to  all  buildings,  would  work  injustice  to  the  owners  or  occupants 
who  have  otherwise  met  the  maximum  requirements.  The  system 
of  fire  drill  adopted  by  the  public  schools  of  the  city  of  New  York 
could  be  adopted  to  factory  building  conditions,  and  should  be  co- 
operative to  reach  its  highest  efficiency. 

Questions  73,  74,  74-A,  74-B,  74-C: 

Conditions  vary  so  greatly  by  reason  of  the  difference  in  con- 
dition, size  and  location  of  buildings  and  their  uses,  that  it  would 
be  inadvisable  to  compel  all  owners  or  occupants  to  install  an 
automatic  sprinkler  system,  but  it  should  be  within  the  power  of 
the  department  in  charge  of  public  safety  to  require  such  installa- 
tion when  after  investigation  of  the  conditions  it  may  prove  nec- 
essary to  safeguard  life  by  this  means.  The  construction  of  the 
buildings,  its  height,  number  and  character  of  its  exits,  number  of 
persons  employed  therein  and  the  merchandise  manufactured  therein 
should  be  considered  in  arriving  at  a  decision  as  to  the  necessity 
of  installing  a  sprinkler  system,  for  all  buildings  and  their  uses 
should  stand  on  their  own  individual  merits. 

Questions  15,  76,  77: 

All  buildings  occupied  by  the  maximum  number  of  employees 
allowed  under  their  class  rating,  and  especially  those  in  which  the 
manufacture  of  textile  goods  is  carried  on,  should  be  equipped  with 
an  auxiliary  fire-alarm  system;  as  this  system  may  be  connected 
with  and  be  a  part  of  the  automatic  sprinkler  system,  it  would 
seem  that  it  would  adapt  itself  to  a  building  occupied  by  any 
number  of  independent  establishments.  Connection  with  fire  head- 
quarters should  be  required  for  buildings  in  the  more  congested 
districts. 

Question  78: 

It  does  not  seem  necessary  to  limit  the  height  of  a  building  in 
which  manufacturing  may  be  carried  on.  It  would  rather  seem 


736  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

necessary  to  limit  the  number  of  operatives  employed  in  a  building 
of  any  height.  Thus,  four  lofts  devoted  to  manufacturing  in  a 
building  twenty  stories  high  would  present  less  difficult  means  of 
escape  than  ten  lofts  used  for  manufacturing  in  a  twelve-story 
building,  for  the  reason  that  in  the  latter  case  there  are  more  people 
to  cause  congestion  on  the  stairways  of  any  practicable  width. 

Question  79: 

There  should  be  penalties  for  the  disobedience  of  rules  laid  down 
for  the  safety  of  operatives  in  buildings,  but  these  penalties  should 
be  exacted  from  the  individual  who  commits  the  act.  It  is  too 
frequently  the  case  now  that  the  law  acts  against  an  innocent  and 
even  absent  owner  of  property  or  an  employer  of  labor  on  the 
theory  that  he  is  responsible  for  the  acts  of  his  agents  or  em- 
ployees. Doors  in  manufacturing  buildings  should  not  be  locked 
and  if  those  in  immediate  charge  of  them  knew  that  'they  them- 
selves would  suffer  personally  for  any  breach  of  this  rule,  the  regu- 
lation would  be  less  frequently  disobeyed.  Notice  of  this  regula- 
tion and  the  penalty  for  its  breach  should  be  posted  on  all  doorways 
and  exits. 

Question  80: 

As  all  machinery  differs  in  accordancce  with  character  of  the 
manufactured  article,  it  may  be  advisable  to  require  the  submis- 
sion of  a  plan  of  the  machinery  to  such  department  as  may  be  del- 
gated  to  supervise  matters  of  this  kind.  Each  case  would  develop 
its  own  necessities  as  to  the  allowance  for  width  of  aisles  and  the 
number  of  people  allowed  for  the  space  used. 

Question  81: 

Doors  or  shutters  should  not  be  allowed  to  open  inwardly  at 
any  exit  or  fire-escape  under  any  circumstances  whatever. 

Questions  82,  88: 

It  would  be  preferable  and  facilitate  rapid  exit  and  prevent 
possible  congestion  if  window  sills  were  prohibited  at  openings 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  737 

leading  to  fire-escapes.  Tn  factory  buildings  fire-escapes  should 
be  placed  at  the  floor  levels  and  the  openings  should  be  fitted  with 
doors  opening  outward,  rather  than  with  lifting  sash.  These 
doors  need  not  obstruct  the  fire-escapes,  for  the  doors  could  be 
made  double  and  the  jambs  to  the  openings  deepened  to  receive 
the  two  sections  of  the  doors. 

Question  84: 

The  standard  of  construction  for  fire-escapes  required  under 
the  Tenement  House  Law  should  be  used  only  as  a  minimum 
of  requirement  for  factory  buildings.  Fire-escapes  for  factory 
buildings  should  be  of  such  construction  and  form  as  will  meet 
the  needs  of  the  particular  building  to  which  they  are  to  be 
applied. 

Question  85: 

The  lowest  balcony  of  fire-escapes  should  be  provided  with 
counter-balanced  ladders  rather  than  those  that  have  to  be  un- 
hooked and  placed  in  position.  The  counter-balanced  type  can- 
not be  displaced,  while  those  of  the  other  type  can  be,  and  fre- 
quently are  removed  from  their  proper  position  and  used  for 
other  purposes. 

Questions  86,  87: 

The  number  of  people  permitted  to  work  in  a  factory  building 
should  be  determined  upon  the  number  and  kind  of  exits  pro- 
vided, and  also  upon  the  other  conditions  existing  in  the  building. 
Each  building  should  be  considered  separately  by  some  responsi- 
ble authority,  and  no  general  specific  requirement  for  all  existing 
buildings  should  be  applied  irrespective  of  their  individual 
conditions. 

Question  88: 

There  should  be  posted  in  all  lofts  used  for  manufacturing 
purposes  a  placard  stating  the  maximum  number  of  people  per- 
mitted to  work  in  such  loft. 
24 


738  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Question  89: 

Factories  and  loft  buildings  should  be  licensed  for  certain 
designated  occupants,  and  changes  in  the  nature  of  the  occupancy 
should  be  prohibited,  unless  expressly  authorized  by  the  responsi- 
ble authority. 

Question  90: 

The  requirement  that  stairways  that  wind  around  elevators 
must  be  removed  in  existing  buildings  would  work  great  hardship 
on  the  present  owners.  It  would  seem  better  to  penalize  such 
buildings  as  to  the  number  of  employees  allowed  therein. 

Question  91: 

The  requirement  that  existing  elevator  shafts  be  enclosed  in 
fireproof  walls  should  not  be  general;  but  apply  only  where  the 
condition  is  a  menace  to  life. 

Question  92: 

The  requirement  that  existing  stairways  be  enclosed  in  fire- 
proof walls  should  not  be  general ;  but  apply  only  where  the  condi- 
tion is  a  menace  to  life.  This  condition  can  be  properly  regu- 
lated by  penalizing  the  building  as  to  the  number  of  operatives 
allowed  therein. 

Question  93: 

Fire  walls  should  not  be  ordered  installed  in  existing  build- 
ings, as  each  existing  building  should  stand  on  its  own  merits, 
leaving  it  to  the  owner's  option  as  to  whether  he  will  install  fire 
walls  recommended,  or  suffer  the  penalties  through  securing  a 
less  desirable  certificate  of  occupancy. 

Question  94: 

Fire  towers  should  not  be  ordered  in  existing  buildings  as  each 
existing  building  should  stand  on  its  own  merits,  leaving  it  to 
the  owner's  option  as  to  whether  he  will  install  fire  towers  rec- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  739 

ommended,  or  suffer  the  penalties  through  securing  a  less  desira- 
ble certificate  of  occupancy. 

This  Committee  deems  it  advisable  to  make  as  few  specific 
recommendations  covering  points  of  construction  as  is  consistent 
with  replying  to  the  questions  asked  by  the  Commission.  Such 
recommendations  will  more  properly  come  from  the  Joint  Com- 
mittee on  City  Departments  of  the  New  York  Chapter,  the  Build- 
ing Trades  Employers'  Association  and  the  Board  of  Fire  Under- 
writers, which  associations  are  engaged  in  a  close  and  careful 
study  of  the  entire  subject  of  the  Building  Code. 

This  Committee  recommends  that  if  abutting  owners  mutually 
agree  to  connect  their  premises  to  aid  escape  by  balconies,  stairs, 
or  bridges  located  at  effective  points,  that  these  conditions  shall 
accrue  to  their  advantage  by  relieving  them  of  other  mandatory 
requirements  as  to  reconstruction  of  their  premises. 


740  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

THE  NECESSITY  FOR  A  STATE  BUILDING  CODE. 

By  ROBERT  D.  KOHX,  ESQ.,  Architect,  New  York  City. 
To  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission: 
GENTLEMEN  : 

I  am  very  glad  to  present  to  your  Commission,  very  briefly,  the 
outlines  of  a  plan  which  in  my  opinion  will  help  greatly  to  reduce 
the  fire  hazard  risk  in  this  State,  both  with  regard  to  life  and 
property.  Although  I  am  secretary  of  what  is  known  as  the  Joint 
Committee  on  City  Departments,  which  is  composed  of  representa- 
tives of  the  New  York  Chapter  of  the  American  Institute  of 
Architects,  the  Building  Trades  Employers'  Association,  the 
American  Institute  of  Consulting  Engineers,  the  Brooklyn 
Chapter  of  the  American  Institute  of  Architects  and  the  Board  of 
Fire  Underwriters,  and  am  also  a  member  of  the  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  the  National  Fire  Protection  Association,  I  appear 
before  you  without  any  official  commitment  from  those  organiza- 
tions, but  the  opinions  I  express  are  those  I  have  formed  as  a 
result  of  my  experience  in  these  various  organizations,  and  in  my 
own  practice  as  architect  of  large  manufacturing  plants  in  this 
city  and  various  parts  of  the  country. 

I  shall  mainly  confine  myself  to  one  point  —  the  need  of  a 
State  Building  Code.  It  seems  to  me  in  the  first  place  that  there 
should  be  in  each  State  a  basic  code  which  shall  lay  down  certain 
definite  minimum  rules  for  the  construction  of  all  classes  of 
buildings  within  the  area  of  the  State.  This  should  in  no  way 
prevent  the  adoption  by  individual  communities,  townships,  vil- 
lages or  cities  of  detailed  building  codes  suitable  for  the  needs 
of  each  individual  case.  Indeed,  it  would  be  unfortunate  in  any 
way  to  restrict  the  power  of  a  city  like  New  York  to  pass  its  own 
building  code.  The  methods  of  construction  are  so  constantly 
changing,  and  the  materials  of  fireproof  construction  increasing 
so  greatly  in  number,  that  a  detailed  State  code  would  be  too 
inelastic  to  properly  meet  the  needs  of  building,  which  is  a  con- 
stantly developing  art.  What  I  wish  to  urge  is  a  code  which  shall 
merely  outline  certain  minimum  requirements  with  regard  to  the 
protection  of  life  and  property  against  the  fire  hazard. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  741 

Under  the  present  method,  one  way  of  building  is  approved 
in  262nd  street,  Borough  of  the  Bronx,  and  an  entirely  different 
method  100  feet  north  of  the  same  street,  because  that  is  within 
the  city  limits  of  Yonkers.  This  condition  is  even  more  notice- 
able when  it  comes  to  the  outlying  districts  of  the  Borough  of 
Queens  and  in  the  surroundings  of  the  larger  cities  of  the  northern 
part  of  the  State.  It  is  possible,  in  my  opinion,  to  build  the 
most  dangerous  sorts  of  factory  building  in  rural  communities. 
The  danger  from  great  conflagrations  in  some  of  our  villages  and 
smaller  cities  is  great.  There  are  many  having  a  population  of 
twenty  or  thirty  thousand,  where  there  is  no  building  code,  or 
where  the  building  rules  are  absurd.  Large  areas  are  covered  by 
wooden  frame  buildings  Avithout  the  slightest  protection  on  the 
most  simple  lines  against  the  spread  of  fire.  Every  member  of  this 
Commission  is  familiar  with  villages  where  one  frame  store  is 
built  next  to  another  without  any  dividing  fire  walls.  The  great 
fire  in  Chelsea.  Massachusetts,  was  a  vivid  example  of  what  a 
tire  will  do  in  such  an  overgrown  wooden  village.  This  State  is 
full  of  factory  buildings,  built  many  years  ago  to  be  sure,  of 
frame,  where  hundreds  of  people  assemble  for  manufacturing  pur- 
poses. Just  because  they  were  outside  of  any  city  limits  they  were 
unrestricted  in  their  forms  of  construction.  The  fire  hazard  is  not 
only  great  in  high  factory  buildings  in  big  cities — it  is  enormous 
in  lo'.v  buildings  of  large  area.  The  Newark  fire  was  an  indication 
of  what  a  tire  will  do  in  a  three  or  four  story  building.  Our 
State  factory  legislation  attempts  to  get  at  the  evil  in  the  factory, 
but  it  only  touches  the  evil  in  that  one  class  of  buildings. 

Such  a  State  Code  as  I  have  in  mind  would  prescribe,  as  I  have 
said,  certain  simple  requirements  so  as  to  leave  to  the  community 
or  tbe  individual  builder  the  greatest  possible  latitude  in  the 
use  of  materials  or  means  of  building  to  accomplish  the  ends 
desired.  It  would  prohibit,  for  one  thing,  the  use  of  inflammable 
roofs  on  any  building  built  within  the  State  where  any  part  of  the 
building  comes  within  (let  us  say)  50  feet  of  an  adjoining 
structure  on  any  side.  Such  a  restriction  would  not  prevent  the 
use  of  shingle  roofs  in  the  open  country  or  in  villages  where  houses 
are  widely  separated,  but  it  would  prevent  the  construction  of  a 
continuous  row  of  inflammable  buildings  with  inflammable  roofs. 


742  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

A  State  Building  Code  would  probably  require  where  non-fire- 
proofing  buildings  were  built  in  rows,  that  the  intervening  walls 
should  be  built  of  brick  or  other  fireproof  materials  at  least  twelve 
inches  thick,  with  parapet  walls,  and  so  constructed  as  to  prevent 
the  spread  of  flames  across  the  roofs.  Such  a  building  code  might 
well  require  that  factories  more  than  one  story  in  height  having 
an  occupancy  greater  than  50  people  should  be  built  with  walls  of 
fireproof  material;  it  should  provide  that  every  elevator  shaft  in 
any  building  shall  be  enclosed  by  brick  or  other  fireproof  walls, 
and  that  every  staircase  in  such  buildings  where  more  than  50 
people  are  accommodated  on  any  floor  shall  be  similarly  enclosed. 
A  State  Building  Code  should  provide  that  every  room  or  space 
that  is  to  accommodate  more  than  50  workers  or  people  assembled 
for  any  purpose,  shall  be  provided  with  at  least  two  means  of 
exit  from  that  space  or  room ;  that  in  every  manufacturing  build- 
ing more  than  one  story  high  not  more  than  100  persons  shall  be 
accommodated  on  any  floor  unless  that  floor  is  subdivided  by  a 
fire  wall  or  fire  partition,  so  that  within  the  areas  of  such  fire 
walls  or  fire  partitions  not  more  than  100  persons  are  accom- 
modated at  one  time;  that  every  such  building  subdivided  by 
intervening  fire  walls  or  fire  partitions,  shall  have  at  least  two 
means  of  exit  from  every  one  of  its  subdivided  spaces  (probably 
no  better  life  protection  device  has  ever  been  suggested  than  the 
dividing  fire  wall  or  fire  partition).  In  every  factory  building 
more  than  three  stories  in  height,  such  a  code  ought  to  require 
that  at  least  one  of  the  means  o*f  exit  from  every  space  in  which 
100  people  are  assembled  shall  be  provided  in  the  form  of  a  fire 
tower,  or  what  has  been  recently  familiarly  called  the  "  Philadel- 
phia Type  of  Fire  Staircase."  In  such  a  code  it  might  be  safe 
to  allow  of  the  assemblage  of  a  larger  number  of  persons,  for 
instance,  in  any  one  area  confined  within  fire  walls  or  fire  parti- 
tions where  the  building  is  of  fireproof  construction,  with  auto- 
matic sprinklers.  In  our  New  York  city  Building  Code,  we  require 
that  every  floor  in  every  factory  or  loft  building  shall  have 
posted  on  its  walls  the  safe  load,  the  number  of  pounds  per  square 
foot  that  the  floor  will  safely  sustain.  In  my  opinion  it  is  just 
as  important  that  every  floor  of  every  building  have  clearly  posted 
on  it  the  number  of  persons  that  may  safely  work  in  that  par- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  743 

ticular  area  of  floor,  and  the  number  of  persons  for  which  such 
floor  or  space  may  be  posted,  ought  to  be  definitely  restricted  ac- 
cording to  the  number  of  exits  and  the  facility  for  exit  provided 
for  that  space.  The  basic  principle  for  such  calculation  could 
easily  be  worked  out  —  indeed,  it  has  practically  been  worked  out, 
and  the  data  would  undoubtedly  be  available  at  short  notice  should 
your  committee  desire  to  have  it. 

Not  least  important  should  be  a  requirement  that  in  no  exist- 
ing building  in  this  State  shall  a  greater  number  of  persons  be 
assembled  for  any  purpose  whatsoever  than  can  safely  be  accommo- 
dated by  the  exits ;  the  permissible  occupancy  being  rated  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  previously  referred  to.  This  would  get  at  the 
evil  of  existing  fire  traps.  Their  use  would  be  restricted,  their 
permissible  occupancy  reduced  unless  dividing  fire  walls  or  fire 
partitions  were  built  and  two  means  of  exit  provided  for  each  sub- 
division of  the  area.  An  unenclosed  staircase  would  no  longer 
be  considered  an  exit,  and  an  unenclosed  elevator  shaft  would  be 
absolutely  prohibitive  in  its  restrictive  effect  upon  the  use  of  the 
building  by  larger  numbers  of  people. 

In  outlining  these  few  points  I  have  not  attempted  to  develop, 
but  merely  to  hint  at  what  a  State  Building  Code  should  be,  and 
to  indicate  some  of  the  effects  that  might  result  from  such  a 
code.  A  code  such  as  I  favor  should  certainly  fix  for  all  structures 
in  the  State  the  maximum  safe  loads  that  may  be  put  upon  wood, 
steel  and  stone.  Such  a  basic  code  should  be  prepared  by  a  com- 
mission of  experts  only  —  engineers,  architects,  fire  protection  ex- 
perts and  experienced  builders.  Pennsylvania  has  recently  ap- 
pointed a  commission  to  draft  such  a  code.  The  Legislature  of 
the  State  of  Ohio,  about  six  months  ago,  adopted  a  State  Building 
Code,  though,  I  believe,  it  was  one  that  was  very  elaborate,  filled 
with  details  of  methods  of  building  construction.  It  is  not  my 
opinion  that  this  would  be  a  wise  plan  for  the  State  of  New 
York.  I  should  rather  see  a  very  simple  State  Code;  one  that 
would  not  enter  into  the  means  of  construction  but  (as  I  have  said 
before)  outline  the  means  of  protection  to  be  afforded  life,  health 
and  property,  and  then  leave  it  to  each  individual  community  to 
develop  its  detailed  code  according  to  its  own  needs. 


744  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

COMMENTS   ON   THE   SCOPE  AND  PROVISIONS  OF 
THE  SULLIVAN-HOEY  FIRE  PREVENTION  LAW. 

By  WALTER  LINDNER,  ESQ.,  of  the  New  York  Bar: 

NEW  YORK,  December  21,  1911. 

MR.  ABRAM  I.  ELKUS,  Counsel,  Factory  Investigation  Commis- 
sion, 165  Broadway,  New  York  city: 

DEAR  SIR: 

You  have  asked  for  a  statement  of  my  views  concerning  the 
Sullivan-Hoey  Fire  Prevention  Law  (Chapter  899,  Laws  of 
1911). 

By  the  new  sections,  774  and  775  of  the  Charter  enacted  by 
this  law,  the  duties  and  powers  of  the  Commissioner  do  not  apply 
to  tenement  houses.  It  seems  to  me  that  this  exclusion  should 
be  carefully  considered.  May  not  the  result  of  this  exclusion 
be  that  there  will  be  fire  hazards  and  perils  in  houses  over  which 
the  Tenement  House  Commissioner  has  jurisdiction,  which  are 
the  result  of  violations  of  law  or  ordinance  but  are  not  prohibited 
by  the  Tenement  House  Law?  Is  it  intended  that  neither  the 
Tenement  House  Commissioner  nor  the  Fire  Commissioner  shall 
have  power  to  require  the  remedying  of  such  conditions?  It  is 
conceivable  that  a  building  classified  as  tenement  house  may  be 
used  partly  for  manufacturing  and  thus  require  the  application 
of  standards  with  relation  to  exits  and  other  fire-prevention  equip- 
ment which  are  not  known  to  the  tenement  house  law,  and  which 
the  Fire  Commissioner  would  not  be  called  upon  to  require. 

The  procedure  under  the  act  is  faulty.  While  orders  of  the 
Fire  Department  may  be  addressed  to  owners,  lessees  or  occupants, 
the  attempt  to  create  a  lien  will  fall  on  the  owner,  although  it  may 
be  the  lessee  or  occupant  who  was  bound  to  perform  the  work 
required  by  the  Department  or  who  received  the  notice.  The 
owner  may  be  entirely  innocent  and  ignorant  of  the  requirements 
of  the  department,  but  the  expense  of  complying  with  the  orders 
of  the  Department  is  made  a  lien  on  the  rent  and  compensation 
due  to  him. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  745 

Section  776  declares  that  buildings  which  are  perilous  to  life 
or  property,  in  case  of  fire  therein,  are  declared  to  be  nuisances, 
and  the  Fire  Commissioner  is  empowered  and  directed  to  cause 
such  nuisance  to  be  abated.  It  is  not  clear  how  this  is  to  be 
done.  Shall  it  be  done  by  action  in  equity,  or  under  summary 
proceeding  under  section  778  ?  Apparently  the  summary  pro- 
ceeding applies  only  in  those  cases  where  orders  have  not  been 
complied  with,  or  the  Commissioner  certifies  that  an  emergency 
exists.  But  a  mere  perilous  condition,  not  amounting  to  an 
emergency  and  not  contrary  to  a  law  or  ordinance  which  would 
be  the  proper  subject  of  an  order  under  section  775,  would  not 
come  under  the  provisions  of  section  778  and  therefore  could  not 
be  abated  except  as  a  nuisance,  which  means  an  action  in  equity 
subject  to  all  the  uncertainties  of  remedy  and  requirements  for 
action  of  the  equitable  remedy  upon  the  person,  and  not  in  any 
way  proceeding  in  rem. 

The  proceedings  under  the  bill  for  a  survey,  so-called,  are  not 
fair  or  scientific.  The  idea  of  a  survey  was  first  suggested  in 
this  connection  in  the  draft  of  a  bill  prepared  by  a  sub-committee 
of  the  Committee  on  Legislation  of  the  Citizens'  Union,  and  was 
embodied  in  a  tentative  draft  of  a  part  of  the  bill  which  was 
afterwards  the  McManus-Herrick  bill,  from  which  the  idea  was 
embodied  into  the  first  forms  of  the  Sullivan-Hoey  bill. 

The  provisions  for  survey,  as  enacted  in  the  law  under  con- 
sideration, differ  materially  from  the  ideas  upon  which  a  fair 
and  effective  procedure  for  survey  should  be  founded.  In  order 
that  the  procedure  under  a  survey  should  be  effective,  the  Fire 
Department  must  be  able  to  require  the  owner  either  to  comply 
with  its  orders  or  justify  his  refusal  before  a  Board  of  Survey, 
subject  to  supervision  of  their  action  by  the  Supreme  Court. 
The  procedure  which  is  called  a  survey  in  this  law,  in  no  sense 
resembles  the  notion  of  an  independent,  impartial  investigation 
by  a  Board  of  Survey.  The  surveyors  are  not  selected  as  impartial 
persons,  but  are  all  selected  by  the  Commissioner.  The  fact  that 
one  of  them  may  be  a  person  named  by  the  Board  of  Fire  Under- 
writers does  not  make  it  likely  that  he  will  be  impartial,  but 
merely  that  he  will  seek  to  establish  such  standards  as  will  dimin- 


746  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ish  the  hazard  to  property,  this  being  most  likely  to  be  the  view 
of  the  Fire  Underwriters. 

The  court  review  is  not  a  proper  court  review  of  such  a  pro- 
cedure. It  is  to  be  obtained  by  certiorari,  the  object  of  which  is 
to  inquire  into  the  regularity  of  the  proceedings  of  the  board, 
and  not  to  try  the  issue  whether  the  premises  comply  with  law 
and  are  safe.  The  procedure  under  the  McManus-Herrick  bill 
differed  from  this  materially.  Under  this  bill,  the  Department 
could  force  the  owner  before  the  Board  of  Survey  which  was  com- 
posed in  the  first  instance  of  two  persons,  one  named  by  the  De- 
partment and  one  by  the  owner,  who  if  they  did  not  agree,  selected 
a  third,  impartial  person.  There  was  appeal  to  the  court  and 
trial  of  the  issue  whether  the  premises  complied  with  law  and 
ordinance  as  an  original  proposition.  The  result  of  this  was  that 
the  Department  would  be  equipped  with  an  efficient  and  summary 
remedy  by  which  conditions  which  it  thought  improper  could  be 
investigated  summarily,  and  if  found  to  be  wrong,  judgment  for 
correction  would  follow  quickly  with  efficient  remedy  in  rem 
against  the  property. 

The  procedure  under  the  Sullivan-Hoey  bill  is  ineffectual.  The 
question  whether  the  owner  shall  go  before  the  Board  of  Survey 
appointed  by  the  Commissioner  is  at  the  option  of  the  owner.  If 
he  does  go  before  the  Board,  he  deprives  himself  of  his  legal 
remedies  to  combat  the  orders  of  the  Commissioner  by  injunction 
or  otherwise.  The  owner  who  would  put  his  head  into  the  lion's 
mouth  this  way  would  be  very  foolish.  It  follows,  therefore,  that 
no  one,  well  advised,  who  seriously  questions  the  orders  of  the  De- 
partment, when  to  carry  them  out  would  be  expensive,  will  go  be- 
fore the  Board  of  Survey,  but  will  seek  to  enjoin  the  action  of  the 
Department  or  take  some  other  remedy  outside  of  this  act.  The 
result  will  be  that  the  procedure  for  survey  under  the  act  will 
seldom  or  never  be  employed  in  important  cases  and  probably 
not  in  any  case.  In  this  connection,  it  must  be  noted  that  the 
order  of  the  court  on  the  certiorari  is  not  reviewable  on  appeal. 

Section  776-A  seeks  to  provide  for  reimbursement  to  the  city 
of  the  expenses  of  carrying  out  orders  of  the  Commissioner  when 
the  owner  refuses  or  neglects  to  do  so.  These  expenses  ar*» 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  747 

made  a  joint  and  several  charge  against  the  owners,  lessees  and 
occupants  of  the  building.  This  is  irrespective  of  who  among 
them  is  responsible  for  the  unlawful  condition  or  chargeable  with 
the  expense  of  repairs  or  changes,  and  the  expenses  are  declared 
to  be  a  lien  on  rent  and  compensation  due,  or  to  grow  due  for 
the  use  of  the  building  to  which  the  order  relates  and  in  respect 
of  which  the  expenses  were  incurred.  There  is  no  provision  when 
this  lien  arises.  Does  it  arise  when  the  work  is  commenced,  when 
the  work  is  finished,  when  there  is  a  notation  thereof  in  the 
Department?  There  is  no  place  provided  where  the  lien  shall 
be  noted  so  it  can  be  found  upon  searches,  nor  is  there  any 
provision  for  determining  the  amount  or  questioning  the  reason- 
ableness of  the  charges. 

Another  important  defect  of  this  law  is  the  lack  of  publicity 
under  it.  It  is  not  provided  that  there  shall  be  kept  any  record 
of  inspections  made  under  the  law,  notices  issued  or  claims  for 
liens  on  the  part  of  the  city.  In  no  place  can  dependable  searches 
be  made  or  information  obtained  as  to  procedure  of  the  Commis- 
sioner against  specific  property  under  this  law.  In  fact,  in  an 
attempt  to  devise  some  method  by  which  searches  could  be  made, 
when  necessary  in  real  estate  transactions,  the  Fire  Commissioner 
has  taken  the  position  that  the  records  of  the  Fire  Prevention 
Bureau  are  not  public  documents,  that  much  of  their  contents 
are  of  a  confidential  nature,  and  that  no  general  access  to  these 
records  can  be  allowed.  It  should  hardly  be  necessary  to  point  out 
the  danger  to  owners  and  persons  attempting  to  deal  in  or  make 
loans  upon  real  estate,  of  a  situation  where  important  claims  may 
be  noted  against  premises  and  cancelled  and  replaced  upon  the 
premises  at  the  will  of  officials,  without  public  knowledge  or  ability 
of  the  public  to  gain  access  to  the  record  and  find  out  when  or 
how  notices  of  violation,  claims  against  and  liens  upon  the  property 
were  put  on,  cancelled  and  replaced.  The  temptation  to  do  these 
acts  in  favor  of,  or  to  the  detriment  of  individuals,  when  the 
records  are  not  public  is  too  great  to  be  put  into  the  power  of 
clerks  and  subordinates  of  the  bureau.  If  the  records  are  public, 
it  will  be  shown  when,  where  and  how  notices  of  violation,  claims 
and  liens  are  put  upon  property  and  how  they  are  disposed  of, 


748  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

and  the  acts  of  the  Department  will  be  subject  to  such  scrutiny 
that  favoritism  or  spite  will  be  very  much  diminished  and,  in  fact, 
made  extremely  difficult.  With  regard  to  the  lien  in  favor  of  the 
city,  there  is  no  provision  how  it  may  be  cancelled  if  it  be  satisfied. 

It  seems  to  me  that  this  bill  should  be  amended  so  that  the 
Fire  Commissioner  has  efficient  powers  to  enforce  his  orders.  To 
do  so,  he  should  be  able  to  force  the  owner  to  take  the  survey, 
but  the  survey  should  be  a  fair  and  impartial  one,  the  owner 
and  the  Department  having  equal  opportunity  to  name  the  initial 
members  of  the  Board,  and  if  they  cannot  agree,  they  cian  name 
an  impartial  third  person.  The  surveyors  should  be  sworn  to 
make  an  impartial  survey.  Their  report  should  be  placed  before 
the  court  and  the  issue  raised  by  their  report  should  be  tried 
summarily  without  a  jury.  The  directions  found  necessary  as 
the  result  of  such  a  trial  should  be  required  to  be  carried  out 
by  the  owner  or  the  Department,  and  if  the  Department  does  the 
work,  it  should  be  able  to  make  a  return  of  its  expenses  at  the 
foot  of  the  order  which  reviews  the  survey,  and  obtain  a  judgment 
for  those  expenses,  subject  to  taxation  of  their  reasonableness 
by  the  court. 

The  entire  procedure  as  soon  as  initiated  in  the  courts  should 
be  the  subject  of  public  notice  by  filing  notice  in  the  nature  of  a 
lis  pendens  in  the  County  Clerk's  office,  with  direction  properly 
to  index  the  same,  and  there  should  be  provision  that  when  the 
city  has  been  reimbursed  for  its  expenses,  some  official  have  power 
to  discharge  the  city's  lien.  Naturally,  the  amount  of  the  expense 
adjudged  in  favor  of  the  city  should  be  a  lien  in  rem  against  the 
property  and  personally  against  the  owner  or  person  of  whom  it 
is  adjudged,  that  he  is  in  fault  for  not  complying  with  the  orders 
of  the  Department. 

The  records  of  the  Department  in  which  are  noted  violations, 
orders  for  inspection,  results  of  inspections,  orders  issued  and  all 
matters  as  between  the  Department  and  real  estate  owners  and 
occupants,  should  be  matter  of  public  record  so  that  owners  and 
persons  dealing  or  intending  to  deal  with  property  can  be  informed 
of  the  record  of  the  property.  It  is  absurd  to  say  that  if  property 
be  a  fire  hazard  that  is  a  matter  of  confidence  between  the  Depart- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  749 

merit  and  the  owner.  If  a  fire  hazard  exists,  it  is  not  a  matter 
of  confidence,  but  is  a  matter  of  public  concern  and  the  condition 
should  be  righted  and  not  allowed  to  be  the  subject  of  confidential 
negotiation  between  the  subordinates  of  the  Commissioner  and  the 
owner. 

In-  expressing  the  foregoing  views,  I  speak  for  myself  only,  and 
because  I  have  been  requested  to  state  them  for  the  benefit  of 
your  Commission. 

Very  truly  yours, 

WALTER  LINDNER. 


750  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

STATE  FIRE  MARSHAL'S  DUTIES. 

STATE  OF  NEW  YOBK,  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE  FIKE  MARSHAL, 

ALBANY. 

TO   THE    FACTORY   INVESTIGATING    COMMISSION,   AUTHORIZED   BY 
CHAPTER  561  OF  THE  LAWS  OF  1911 

HON.  ROBERT  F.  WAGNEB,  Chairman: 

SIB: 

In  accordance  with  the  letter  of  Abram  I.  Elkus,  Esq.,  Chief 
Counsel,  under  date  of  November  4th,  I  have  already  furnished 
copies  of  the  State  Marshal  Fire  Act,  and  in  addition  submit  here- 
with statement  of  the  operations  of  my  office. 

Duties  of  the  State  Fire  Marshal: 

The  State  Fire  Marshal  has  two  principal  lines  of  duty. 

(a.)  Enforcement  of  all  laws  and  ordinances  of  the  State,  and 
the  several  counties,  cities  and  political  subdivisions 
thereof,  except  New  York  city. 

(b.)  Inspection  of  places  upon  complaint  of  any  person,  or  upon 
his  own  initiative. 

Enforcement  of  Laws  and  Ordinances: 

The  State  Fire  Marshal  Law  enumerates  the  laws  and  ordinances 
which  are  to  be  enforced  by  that  office  as  follows: 

I.  The  installation  and  maintenance  of  automatic  or  other  fire 
alarm  systems  and  fire  extinguishing  equipment. 

n.  The  inspection  of  steam  boilers. 
HI.  The  construction,  maintenance  and  regulation  of  fire-escapes. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  751 

IV.  The  means  and  adequacy  of  exit,  in  case  of  fire,  from  factories, 
asylums,  hospitals,  churches,  schools,  halls,  theatres,  amphi- 
theatres, and  all  other  places  in  which  numbers  of  persons 
work,  live  or  congregate  from  time  to  time,  for  any  purpose. 

VI.  The  suppression  of  arson  and  investigation  of  the  cause,  origin 
and  circumstances  of  fires. 

Inspection: 

The  State  Fire  Marshal  is  required  to  inspect  buildings  on  re- 
ceipt of  complaints,  or  when  he  deems  it  necessary,  and  to  take 
action  if  the  building  is  dangerous  on  account  of  want  of  repairs, 
absence  of  fire-escapes,  or  fire  appliances,  age,  dilapidated  condition, 
presence  of  combustibles,  or  other  causes  of  fire. 

Organization  of  State  Fire  Marshal's  Office: 

The  State  Fire  Marshal  Act  took  effect  on  September  first,  of 
this  year,  so  there  has  been  less  than  three  months  in  which  to 
carry  on  the  work.  It  must  be  recognized  that  considerable  time 
is  required  to  get  an  investigation  office  such  as  the  State  Fire 
Marshal's  into  effective  working  shape.  The  natural  delays  conse- 
quent upon  a  new  undertaking  have  been  increased  by  the  receipt 
of  numerous  complaints,  which  appear  to  demand  immediate  atten- 
tion, and,  to  some  extent,  interfered  with  systematic  work. 

The  State  Fire  Marshal  has  appointed  the  staff  provided  by 
law,  and  in  addition  eight  inspectors,  and  with  this  force  is  actively 
at  work  securing  such  improvements  as  are  possible  under  the 
circumstances.  An  outline  of  the  activities  already  started  may 
be  given  as  follows: 

(a.)  Investigation  of  causes  of  fire  by  local  officials,  with  reports 
on  forms  furnished  by  State  Fire  Marshal,  and  special 
investigation  by  Deputy  State  Fire  Marshals,  if  there  are 
evidences  of  arson. 

(b.)  Inspection  and  reports  on  the  fire  condition  of  State  build- 
ings by  Deputy  State  Fire  Marshals. 


752  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

(c.)  Inspection  of  local  fire  departments  and  active  co-operation 
with  the  department  heads  for  the  improvement  of  their 
methods  and  equipment. 

(d.)  City  and  town  inspections  by  State  Fire  Marshal  staff, 
(e.)  Inspection  of  individual  buildings  on  receipt  of  complaints. 

(f.)  Systematic  examination  of  boilers  by  local  officials  with 
reports  to  the  State  Fire  Marshal  as  to  their  inspection 
or  lack  of  inspection. 

(g.)  Compilation  of  a  code  of  regulations  covering  combustibles 
and  explosives. 

(h.)  Investigation  of  the  water  supply  available  for  fire  pur- 
poses in  the  smaller  towns  and  cities. 

The  carrying  of  all  the  work  outlined  is  considered  only  pre- 
liminary to  a  systematic  campaign  to  make  New  York  State 
foremost  in  fire  prevention.  The  State  Fire  Marshal  is  aware  of 
what  has  been  done  in  Ohio,  Nebraska,  West  Virginia  and  other 
States,  by  the  respective  State  Fire  Marshals.  He  is  also  aware 
of  the  great  progress  in  fire  prevention  as  practiced  by  private 
corporations.  Fire  prevention  indeed  is  so  technical  and  highly 
developed  that  the  State  Fire  Marshal  deems  it  necessary  to  secure 
experts  in  organizing  his  office  and  planning  work  required  by 
law,  and  he  is  making  arrangements  to  secure  the  services  of  the 
best  qualified  men  for  this  purpose.  It  must  be  recognized  that 
in  the  conduct  of  a  public  office  such  as  the  State  Fire  Marshal's, 
it  is  necessary  to  secure  experts  who  are  not  only  competent  in 
fire  prevention  as  applied  by  insurance  and  other  private  organiza- 
tions, but  who  are  also  thoroughly  familiar  with  public  depart- 
ments and  understand  the  practical  difficulties  presented  in 
administering  laws  and  ordinances. 

A  detailed  plan  of  operations  will  be  worked  out  by  the  experts 
retained  by  the  State  Fire  Marshal,  and  thereby  give  assurance 
that  the  work  will  be  performed  according  to  established  fire 
prevention  principles  and  practicee. 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  753 

Fire  Prevention  Measures: 

Fire  prevention  covers  so  wide  a  field,  and  embraces  so  many 
appliance  s,  systems,  devices  and  constructions,  that  the  State  Fire 
marshal  can  do  no  more  than  propose  to  apply  fire  prevention 
as  the  conditions  of  the  individual  buildings  demand. 

It  is  recognized,  for  example,  that  fireproof  construction  is 
advisable,  and  perhaps  necessary,  in  certain  classes  of  buildings. 
Also,  that  the  reconstruction  or  alteration  of  existing  buildings 
of  a  non-fireproof  character  may  have  to  be  compulsory. 

It  is  also  recognized  that  fire  alarm  systems  both  of  the  auto- 
matic type  and  the  manual  type,  and  those  designed  for  use  of 
watchmen,  will  be  necessary,  and  in  many  cases  the  compulsory 
installation  of  complete  automatic  sprinkler  systems,  including 
automatic  electric  supervision,  will  have  to  be  insisted  upon. 

The  provision  of  means  of  escape  which  are  not  only  adequate 
6ut  reasonably  safe  is  a  fundamental  requirement,  and  wherever 
there  are  assembled  a  large  number  of  persons,  particularly  in 
work  shops  and  factories,  a  fire  drill  or  organized  method  of  leav- 
ing the  building  will  have  to  be  arranged.  The  various  conditions 
presented  will  be  special  problems  and  require  appropriate  fire 
prevention  treatment. 

Condition  in  Factories: 

The  receipt  of  numerous  complaints  by  the  State  Fire  Marshal, 
and  the  inspections  already  made  by  his  staff,  indicate  that  the 
lack  of  fire  prevention  is  pronounced  in  the  factories  outside  of 
New  York  city,  and  is  probably  worse  than  in  the  metropolis. 

Many  of  the  smaller  towns  and  cities  are  without  city  ordi- 
nances, and,  in  addition,  the  methods  of  inspection  and  the  number 
of  inspectors  provided  are  not  equal  to  those  in  the  city.  Suffi- 
cient time,  however,  has  not  been  allowed  the  State  Fire  Marshal 
in  which  to  make  a  proper  study  of  fire  conditions  in 'his  territory, 
nor  to  form  a  fair  comparison  with  conditions  existing  in  New 
York. 

Kespectfully, 

THOMAS.  A.  AHEAKN. 


754:  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

(2.)     FACTORY    INSPECTION,    ACCIDENT  PREVENTION  AND 

SANITATION. 

FACTORY  INSPECTION. 

PROF.  HENRY  R.  SEAGER,  President  of  the  American  Association 
for  Labor  Legislation. 

The  most  important  question  that  conf ronrts  your  Commission 
is,  obviously,  that  of  determining  the  most  effective  form  of 
organization  of  the  factory  inspection  service  for  a  state  like  New 
York.  There  is,  doubtless,  much  to  be  said  in  favor  of  a  separate 
department  of  factory  inspection  for  New  York  city.  The  census 
of  1910  showed  that  more  than  half  of  the  population  of  the  State 
is  now  found  in  this  city.  Moreover,  from  1900  to  1910  the 
population  of  the  city  increased  by  39  per  cent,  while  the  popula- 
tion of  the  State  outside  of  the  city  increased  by  only  13  per  cent. 
Should  these  relative  rates  of  growth  continue,  there  will  be 
nearly  7,000,000  people  living  in  New  York  city  by  1920  and  less 
than  5,000,000  in  the  State  outside  of  the  city,  and  by  1930  the 
population  of  the  city  will  be  nearly  10,000,000,  while  the  popula- 
tion of  the  State  outside  of  the  city  will  be  barely  6,000,000.  It 
is  thus  clear  that  New  York  city  has  attained  such  a  dominant 
place  in  the  State  as  to  be  entitled  to  a  separate  department  of 
labor,  if  this  would  promote  more  efficient  administration.  This 
view  is  reenforced  by  the  consideration  that  there  are  concen- 
trated in  this  city  more  people  than  are  found  in  any  of  the  states 
of  the  Union,  except  New  York  itself,  Pennsylvania,  Illinois  and 
Ohio. 

The  real  question,  however,  is  not  whether  New  York  city  is 
entitled  to  a  separate  department,  but  whether  this  would  yield 
better  results.  After  careful  consideration  of  the  matter,  my 
opinion  is  that  it  would  not  The  labor  law  is,  and  will  continue 
to  be,  the  result  of  State  legislation.  Im  connection  with  its 
administration  uniformity  is  all  important.  This  can  best  be  se- 
cured by  making  the  authority  responsible  for  enforcement  of  the 
law  co-extensive  with  the  authority  enacting  the  law.  On  these 
grounds,  I  believe  that  the  present  organization  of  the  State  De- 
partment of  Labor,  to  enforce  the  labor  law  throughout  the  whole 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  755 

State,  should  be  continued.  As  time  goes  on,  it  is  clear  that  New 
York  city  is  going  to  be  the  dominant  factor  in  State  politics  and, 
therefore,  any  neglect  of  the  interests  of  the  city  which  may  have 
occurred  in  the  past  is  less  and  less  likely  to  occur  in  the  future. 

At  the  same  time  that  1  favor  preservation  of  the  present  single 
Department  of  Labor  for  the  whole  State,  1  believe  that  fuller 
recognition  should  be  given  by  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  to  the 
fact  that  labor  conditions  in  New  York  city  deserve  to  receive 
the  major  portion  of  his  attention,  since  the  majority  of  the  wage- 
earners  of  the  State  are  found  in  the  city.  It  would  probably  be 
unwise  to  transfer  the  head  office  of  the  Department  from  the 
State  capitol,  but  the  omce  in  New  York  city  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered the  principal  office  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  enforce- 
ment of  the  law.  The  Chief  Factory  Inspector  and  the  Superin- 
tendent of  Safety  ought  to  make  the  city  their  headquarters  (as  I 
believe  they  now  do),  and  complaints  ought  to  be  brought  to  the 
attention  of  violators  of  the  law  in  New  York  city  directly  from 
the  branch  office  in  New  York,  without  the  necessity  of  an  appeal 
to  Albany. 

On  the  second  question,  that  is,  as  to  the  relative  merits  of  a 
(  01  n uii&sion  versus  a  Commissioner  to  be  responsible  for  the  en- 
forcement of  the  labor  law,  my  view  is  also  favorable  to  the  present 
system.  A  Commission  of  three  may  be  highly  efficient  when  the 
three  commissioners  work  together,  but  there  is  always  the  danger 
that  their  views  may  not  be  harmonious  and  then,  such  a  body 
becomes  quite  inefficient.  I  believe  the  experience  of  New  York 
State  favors  the  single  commissioner  system  of  administration. 
Given  the  right  man  at  the  head  of  the  department,  which  means 
adequate  compensation  and  adequate  recognition  on  the  part  of  the 
people  of  the  State  of  the  dignity  and  importance  of  the  office, 
I  believe  he  can  be  depended  upon  to  surround  himself  with 
subordinates  who  will  meet  the  various  requirements  of  the  situa- 
tion as  well  as  a  larger  group  of  three  commissioners.  The  example 
that  is  commonly  cited  in  favor  of  the  commission  system  is  that 
of  Wisconsin,  but  there  are  two  reasons  why  the  experience  of 
Wisconsin  should  not  serve  as  a  precedent  for  this  State.  First, 
the  three  commissioners  who  are  enforcing  the  Wisconsin  law  are 
men  representing  the  same  point  of  view  with  reference  to  the  law 


756  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

and  able  to  work  in  cordial  cooperation.  Second,  the  Wisconsin 
Commission  has  minch  wider  powers  than  the  Xew  York  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor,  being  responsible  not  only  for  the  enforcement  of 
the  labor  law,  but  for  the  administration  of  the  workmen's  com- 
pensation law  and  the  operation  of  free  public  employment  offices. 
Furthermore,  the  Wisconsin  plan  is  still  on  trial,  and  it  would  be 
premature  to  conclude  from  the  efficient  work  of  the  present 
Commission,  that  this  system  is  superior  to  our  system  in  New 
York. 

In  reference  to  the  number  of  factory  inspectors,  my  opinion  — 
based  on  some  study  of  the  operation  of  the  law  —  is  that  what 
we  now  need  is  not  so  much  more  inspectors  than  the  80  now 
authorized  by  the  law,  as  inspectors  of  higher  quality.  The  work 
done  by  the  inspectors  is  vital  to  the  whole  syistem  of  factory 
regulation.  The  position  ought  to  be  made  as  honorable  and  per- 
manent as  is  the  case  in  the  United  Kingdom.  This  means  ap- 
pointment and  promotion  strictly  on  the  basis  of  merit,  larger 
compensation,  and  retirement  on  a  pension  when  a  certain  age 
has  been  attained'  after  a  certain  number  of  years  of  service.  As 
regards  these  ipoints,  the  organization  of  the  Department  of  Labor 
in  Neiw  York  is  no  worse  than  that  of  other  departments,  but  the 
lack  of  the  best  ability  among  factory  inspectors  is  a  worse  evil 
for  the  people  of  the  State  than  the  lack  of  such  ability  in  other 
departments  which  touch  their  interests  less  vitally.  I  think  a 
recommendation  on  the  part  of  your  Commission  for  a  commis- 
sion to  examine  into  the  whole  civil  service  system  of  the  State, 
with  a  view  to  its  reform,  would  be  very  much  in  order. 

The  other  important  general  problem  with  which  you  have  to 
deal  is  as  to  the  detailed  safety  and  sanitary  standards  which 
should  be  prescribed  in  the  labor  law.  As  to  this  question,  I  am 
convinced  that  the  plan  adopted  by  Wisconsin  of  laying  down 
general  requirements  as  to,  the  safety  and  sanitation  in  the  law  and 
leaving  it  to  the  Industrial  Commission  (with  us  the  Commis- 
sioner of  Labor)  to  issue  detailed  regulations  applicable  to  dif- 
ferent industries  to  hold  them  up  to  these  general  requirements, 
is  to  be  preferred.  Under  the  complex  and  variable  conditions  of 
modern  industry,  it  is  impossible  to  specify  in  the  law  the  regula- 
tions with  which  employers  should  comply  in  the  management  of 
their  factories.  The  more  flexible  system  of  administrative  regu- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  757 

latioiis,  subject  to  change  as  conditions  change,  is  the  only  practi- 
cable method.  The  objection  to  this  plan  is,  of  course,  that  it 
gives  too  great  power  to  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  and  that  this 
power  may  be  abused  either  because  the  commissioner  is  autocratic 
or  because  he  or  his  subordinates  are  corrupt  and  make  their 
authority  a  source  of  graft.  The  Wisconsin  plan  to  avoid  these 
dangers  is  to  have  three  commissioners,  rather  than  one,  and  to 
make  their  regulations  subject  to  review  by  the  district  court  sit- 
ting at  Madison,  to  determine  their  reasonableness.  I  believe  we 
should  adopt  a  somwhat  different  plan,  suggested  by  the  policy  of 
M  assachusetts  with  reference  to  its  Board  of  Boiler  Rules,  created 
to  prevent  accidents  through  boiler  explosions.  This  is  to  have 
behind  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  a  board  of  impartial  experts, 
who  shall  draft  regulations  for  him,  with  due  regard  to  the  practi- 
cal exigencies  of  the  situation,  that  is,  the  competition  of  other 
states,  the  expense  imposed  011  the  employer  by  the  regulation, 
etc.  1  should  favor  the  creation  of  two  such  boards,  one  on  Safety 
and  the  other  on  Sanitation.  The  Safety  Board  should  consist 
of  a  representative  employer,  a  representative  wage  earner,  an 
engineer,  a  lawyer  and  an  economist.  On  the  Sanitation  Board 
there  should  be  in  place  of  an  engineer  an  expert  on  hygiene,  and 
in  place  of  the  lawyer  a  physician.  I  believe  that  there  is  now 
enough  interest  in  these  vital  questions  'of  safety  and  sanitation 
to  make  it  possible  to  create  such  boards  to  serve  without  pay, 
and  that  they  would  be  most  helpful  to  the  Commissioner  of 
Labor  in  deciding  the  difficult  questions  that  would  come  before 
him  if  he  were  empowered  to  draft  detailed  regulations  for  dif- 
ferent industries  to  make  them,  conform  to  the  general  require- 
ments of  the  labor  law.  As  in  Wisconsin,  so  in  the  State,  the 
regulations  prepared  by  these  boards  should  be  subject  to  review 
by  some  designated  court,  so  that  in  the  course  of  time  the  judges 
of  that  court  would  become  experts  on  questions  of  this  sort  that 
might  come  before  them. 

The  temptation  is  great  to  supplement  these  views  on  the  more 
fundamental  questions  with  which  your  Commission  is  concerned 
with  detailed  answers  to  other  questions,  but  I  refrain  from  doing 
SK>,  as  I  believe  the  most  valuable  service  you  can  render  the  State 
at  this  time,  is  in  connection  with  the  solution  of  these  funda- 
mental problems. 


758  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ACCIDENT  PKEVENTION. 
JOHN  CAJLDER,  Manager,  Remington  Typewriter  Company. 

(I)  Some  Facts  About  Accident: 

One  of  our  authorities  on  industrial  mortality  in  the  United 
States  has  estimated  that  the  deaths  amongst  adult  male  wage- 
earners  alone,  due  to  accidents,  amount  to  35,000  a  year  and  that 
the  non-fatal  injuries  of  occupation  cannot  be  much  less  than  two 
millions  additional. 

Such  figures  take  no  account  of  the  many  accidents  to  females 
and  young  persons  and  are  based  on  data  which  is  admittedly 
incomplete  and  below  the  mark. 

It  is  staggering  to  find  that  in  a  single  year  of  peaceful  in- 
dustry we  kill  and  wound,  without  intent,  more  people  than  in 
several  great  military  campaigns  where  disablement  is  deliberately 
pursued  with  all  the  engines  of  war  which  science  can  devise. 

From  25  years'  experience  in  factories  and  the  investigation 
of  some  thousands  of  accidents,  I  have  found  that  for  such  casual- 
ties the  responsibility  is  pretty  evenly  divided  between  indifferent 
employees  and  neglectful  employers. 

I  believe  that  factory  accidents  are  due  chiefly  to  the  follow- 
ing causes: 

Ignorance;  carelessness;  unsuitable  clothing;  insufficient  light- 
ing; dirty  and  obstructed  workplaces;  neglect  of  fire  precautions; 
defects  of  machinery  and  structures;  absence  of  safeguards  ant} 
of  safeworking  supervision. 

Not  all  our  accidents,  however,  are  preventable  and  nothing 
is  to  be  gained  by  blinking  the  fact.  Many  of  them  are  purely 
fortuitous  and  accidental  in  the  most  literal  sense,  no  blame  being 
attachable  to  anyone. 

Yet  when  every  allowance  is  made  for  inevitability,  I  am  firmly 
convinced  from  a  lengthy  practical  experience  that  at  least  one 
third  of  all  our  factory  injuries  can  and  ought  to  be  prevented 
by  legal,  administrative  and  practical  measures  which  I  will  en- 
deavor to  describe  and  illustrate. 


BBIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  759 

At  the  outset  let  me  say  that  this  is  chiefly  a  matter  for  experts 
with  engineering  training,  though  in  the  United  States  a  large 
number  of  such  men  have  yet  to  be  educated,  experienced  in  risks, 
hired  and  called  upon  to  show  results,  not  merely  or  even  chiefly 
in  the  work  of  State  factory  inspection,  but  as  part  of  the  organ- 
ization in  every  factory  where  the  upward  trend  in  efficiency 
is  allowed  to  permeate  every  function  of  the  establishment. 

The  aibove  scientific  and  practical  procedure  applies  to  the 
whole  program  of  factory  matters  referred  to  your  Commission, 
but  I  can  deal  solely  at  this  time  with  accident  prevention. 

I  direct  your  attention  briefly  to  three  aspects  of  this  important 
matter,  viz: 

(1)  What  the  State  Can  Do. 

(2)  What  the  Manufacturer  Can  Do. 

(3)  What  Some  Manufacturers  Are  Doing. 

(1)    What  the  State  Can  Do: 

(a)  Because  of  our  extensive  Inter-State  Commerce  we  need, 
as  far  as  possible,  Uniform  State  Safety  Laws.     Dangerous  ma- 
chinery and  other  appliances  used  in  the  arts  —  both  new  and 
second-hand  —  is  constantly  moving  over  State  boundaries,  and 
such  danger  as  is  inherent  in  the  machine  itself,  apart  from  its 
future  application,  should  be  provided  for  by  its  maker  by  stat- 
utory requirement. 

(b)  The  State  safety  laws  should  not  only  be  uniform;  they 
should  also  be  definite  and  practical. 

At  present  the  legal  responsibility  for  safety  under  such  laws  - 
often  copied  unintelligently  from  foreign  statutes  or  a  mangled 
compromise  emerging  at  the  end  of  a  political   session  —  is  so 
tangled   that   it   is  sometimes  hard   for  employer  and   inspector 
alike  to  know  where  they  stand. 

(c)  The  remedy  is  simple.     Prepare  such  statutes  only  under 
the  best  expert  advice.     Keep  them  non-partisan  and  take  a  step 


760  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

forward  which  has  long  been  needed,  by  removing  every  permis- 
sive clause  from  these  statutes  and  making  the  employer  —  and 
also  the  maker  of  machinery  —  solely  responsible  for  the  guard- 
ing of  all  dangerous  parts  or  appliances  which  they  use  or  origi- 
nate, letting  proved  impracticability  be  the  only  defense  for  non- 
•  .bservance. 

(d)  Do  not  attempt  to  enumerate  in  the  statute  all  specific 
dangerous  machines — excepting  of  course  elevators  and  common 
utilities  in  structures,  in  power  generation  and  transmission. 

Such  a  catalogue  is  attempted  in  nearly  every  State  statute 
we  have,  but  it  is  always  inconsistent  and  imperfect,  and  prevents 
progress  in  industrial  safety. 

(e)  Catalogue  rather  in  the  law  the  "  dangerous  mechanical 
elements  "  which  are  found  on  machinery  and  appliances.     These 
are  well  known  to  engineers  and  less  than  a  dozen  in  number  and 
comprise  the  following: 

(1)  All   engaging   toothed   or   other  gears,   rolls,    drums   and 
slides  of  every  description  on  any  machine. 

(2)  The  spaces  between  fixed  and  moving  parts  of  any  ma- 
chine, or  between  the  latter  and  structures  near  it,  leaving  insuf- 
ficient working  clearance  —  in  no  case  less  than  eighteen  inches 

-  for  any  person  employed  thereon  or  near  it. 

(3)  Pulleys  and  clutches. 

(4)  Belts,  bands  and  driving  chains. 

(5)  Flywheels  and  starting  balance  wheels. 

(6)  Shafting  and   spindles   and   all   couplings   or  projections 
thereon  or  upon  reciprocating  or  other  moving  parts  of  machines. 

(7)  Counter-weights  and  balance  gears  and  their  suspensions. 

(8)  The  actual  element  on  every  machine  which  comes  into 
contact  with  the  work  and  cuts,  shears  or  otherwise  operates  upon 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  761 

the  latter,  for  instance  the  circular  saw  blade  on  the  saw  mill, 
the  punch  and  die  in  the  press,  the  revolving  cutter  in  the  milling 
machine,  etc.,  etc. 

Insist  that  these  elements  be  always  guarded  where  found 
"  unless  they  are  of  such  form  and  in  such  position  as  to  be 
equally  safe  to  all  as  if  guarded  "  and  you  will  have,  without 
listing  thousands  of  machines,  a  working  category  of  machinery 
risks. 

(f)  These  steps  will  relieve  the  factory  inspectors  entirely  of 
their    present   impossible   burden,    viz ;    their   duty    in  so   many 
dangerous  cases  to  take  the  initiative  and  create  the  obligation 
on  the  employers  part  by  serving  notice  to  safeguard. 

No  possible  force  of  inspectors  will  make  much  progress  in 
safety  work  unless  the  onus  to  protect  the  worker  is  placed  fairly 
and  squarely  on  the  employer's  shoulders  and  on  those  of  the 
negligent  maker  of  appliances. 

(g)  At  present  the  law  practically  invites  the  employer,   in 
many  cases  of  danger,  to  create  risks  freely  and  do  nothing  towards 
safeguarding  until  an  inspector,  who  can  only  visit  the  plant  once 
a  year,  happens  to  make  a  complaint  or  recommendation.     Even 
then,  if  legal  process  results,  it  is  a  long  drawn  out  one  with  a 
very  doubtful  issue. 

(h)  This  unbusinesslike  procedure  would  be  swept  away  at 
once  if  the  obligation  to  safeguard  rested  upon  the  employer  from 
the  moment  of  starting  a  dangerous  machine  and  at  all  times 
thereafter.  Meanwhile,  the  inspector  of  factories,  if  he  is  an 
expert  with  a  secure  and  honorable  future  in  the  service  of  the 
State,  has  ample  scope  for  educational  work  especially  amongst 
the  owners  of  the  small  plants  and  for  occasional  punitive  and 
disciplinary  measures  based  on  the  clear  obligation  which  the 
courts  will  respect  and  uphold. 

(i)  In  recent  years  this  task  of  industrial  betterment,  owing 
to  the  wholly  inadequate  financial  assistance  'afforded  Labor  Com- 
missioners, has  been  largely  performed  by  our  well-trained  casualty 


762  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

insurance  inspectors,  so  far  as  their  policy  holders  are  concerned, 
and  by  the  engineers  and  executives  of  many  corporations  who 
have  given  their  experience  freely  to  the  public. 

(j)  It  is  too  soon  yet  to  try  to  estimate  the  work  of  our 
strengthened  and  reorganized  State  Factory  Department,  which 
got  into  operation  only  this  fall.  All  that  has  been  done  recently 
has  been  in  the  right  direction.  I  believe  that  we  should  increase 
the  number  of  engineering  experts  on  the  State  staff  and  should 
seek  to  sever  for  all  time  the  last  possible  connection  of  our 
Factory  Department  with  political  influence  and  patronage. 
Until  this  is  done,  it  will  not  command  the  absolute  respect  and 
confidence  of  the  employers  and  workmen. 

To  sum  up,  what  can  the  State  do  in  the  premises? 

(1)  It  can  give  New  York  a  better,  simpler,  more  scientific 
and  effective  safety  law,  and  can  promote  uniform  State  action  on 
this  subject  and  on  accident  reporting,  which  is  the  real  source 
of  information  as  to  what  is  actually  transpiring  in  our  factories. 

(2)  It  can  place  the  safeguarding  initiative  and  obligation 
fairly  and  squarely  upon  the  men  who  create  the  accident  risk, 
viz ;  the  employers  and  the  machinery  makers,  and  not  on  the  in- 
spector as  at  present;  the  latter  can  never  be  other  than  an  occa- 
sional skilled  visitor,   reporter  and   adviser,   and  he  cannot  be 
ubiquitous. 

(3)  It  can  coordinate  through  its  experts,  the  safeguarding 
of  the   best   plants   in   the   State  —  these   are   our   true    safety 
museums  —  and  attempt  an  educational  task,  long  overdue  but 
not  expensive,  viz,  the  illustration  by  special  bulletins,  of  the 
various  trade  risks  and  their  practical  remedies. 

(4)  It  can  provide  for  compulsory  registration  of  all  existing 
factories  and  every  new  factory.     I  do  not  favor  licensing  such 
places  except  in  fire  protection,  for  accident  risks  are  constantly 
changing. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  763 

(2)    What  the  Manufacturer  Can  Do: 

When  we  consider  the  history  of  factory  legislation  and  admin- 
istration in  this  State  and  the  nature  of  the  financial  and  material 
provision  for  enforcement  of  the  labor  laws,  we  are  not  surprised 
that  our  manufacturers  had  difficulty  in  believing  that  serious 
observance  of  these  statutes  was  expected  by  the  Legislatures 
which  enacted  them  and  starved  the  department  charged  with 
their  administration. 

In  brief,  what  can  the  manufacturer  do? 

(1)  He  can  see  that  the  principles  of  safeguarding  and  safe- 
working  in  industry  are  made  as  much  a  part  of  the  education  of 
young  engineers  at  college  and  young  foremen  in  the  plants  as  are 
those  of  efficiency  and  conservation  in  other  directions.     This 
one  duty  conscientiously  fulfilled  is  fraught  with  more  good  to 
the  industrial  community  than  all  the  statutes  ever  penned  on  the 
subject.    With  this  provision  naturally  goes  the  progressive  educa- 
tion of  the  workmen  also.     In  other  words,  the  State  may  give 
valuable  help  but  it  can  never  do  the  work,  whereas  the  manu- 
facturer determined  to  have  "  safety  "  can  get  it  without  asking 
Society  or  "  all-of-us  "  for  any  assistance  whatever. 

(2)  He  can  place  the  responsibility  for  the  safeguarding  of 
his  plant  upon  the  mechanical  engineer,  for  the  secret  of  repeated 
preventable  accidents  in  any  plant  is  an  open  one,  viz ;  that  what- 
ever is  permitted  to  be  anybody's  or  everybody's  business  is  in 
daily  life,  as  we  well  know,  nobody's  business. 

Committees  of  safety  may  locate  accident  risks,  but  the  design 
and  installation  of  well-considered,  consistent,  durable  safeguards 
need  the  close  attention  of  a  competent  engineer. 

In  a  matter  such  as  this,  the  attitude  and  action  of  the  mechani- 
cal executives  of  a  factory  are  all  important,  and  give  the  key-note 
on  "  safety  "  to  the  whole  plant. 

It  is  because  such  a  source  of  betterment  has  a  hundred  chances 
to  one  over  an  inspector  for  preventing  accident  that  I  desire  to 
see  a  compelling  legal  obligation  constantly  lying  upon  the  em- 


764  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ployer  such  as  has  been  so  successful  in  the  United  Kingdom  and 
in  Europe. 

Lastly  consider 

(3)    What  Some  Manufacturers  are  Doing: 

Many  manufacturers  no  longer  desire  to  take  any  advantage 
of  the  numerous  grave  omissions  in  the  text,  obligations  and  ad- 
ministration of  our  present  safety  laws. 

Some  are  treating  the  subject  as  an  ordinary  engineering  prob- 
lem in  which  they  have  set  a  far  higher  standard  for  themselves 
that  the  State,  and  are  living  up  to  it  regardless  of  the  lower 
requirements  of  the  statutes. 

Others  wish,  but  are  unable  to  do  likewise  and  art  asking  for 
advice  and  help  from  a  ninadequately  manned  State  Bureau. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  Y65 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  OCCUPATIONAL  DISEASES. 
DR.  W.  GILMAN  THOMPSON,  Cornell  Medical  School. 

METAL  POISONING  CASES  occurring  during  the  past  8  years  (from 
1903  to  1911)  in  the  wards  of  Bellevue  Hospital  and  the 
Out-Patient  Department  of  the  Medical  Clinic  of  the 
Cornell  University  Medical  College  in  New  York  City : 

Acute.  Chronic. 
LKAD  POISONING: 

Bellevue 23  164 

Cornell  .                                                                            3  48 


Total  .  26  212 


Chronic  Arsenic  poisoning  during  the  same  period,  4  cases. 

Chronic  Mercury  poisoning  during  the  same  period,  3  cases. 

Chronic  Chromic  acid  poisoning  during  the  same  period,  1  case. 

Chronic  Brass  poisoning  during  the  same  period,  12  cases. 

Submitted  by 

PROF.  GILMAN  THOMPSON. 

TENTATIVE  CLASSIFICATION,  submitted  by  W.  Oilman  Thompson, 
M.  D.,  Professor  of  Medicine  in  the  Cornell  University 
Medical  College  in  New  York  City:  Visiting  Physician 
to  the  Bellevue  Hospital,  late  Visiting  Physician  to  the 
New  York  and  Presbyterian  Hospitals. 
NOTE. —  This  classification  is  based  upon  the  medical  point  of  view. 

A.  Occupations. 

B.  Harmful  Substances. 

C.  Harmful  Conditions. 

D.  Diseases. 


766  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

A.  OCCUPATIONS.    Workers  in  Hazardous  Trades. 

I.  Workers  in  Harmful  Substances: 

1.  Workers  in  metals. 

2.  Workers  in  dusts. 

3.  Workers  in  gases,  vapors  and  fumes. 

4.  Workers    in    infective    materials    (hides,    anthrax, 

etc.). 

II.  Workers  Under  Harmful  Conditions: 

1.  Heat  and  moisture, 

2.  Excessive  light. 

3.  Compressed  air. 

4.  Confined  air. 

5.  Confined  positions,  nerve  strain  and  fatigue;  the 

"  Occupation  Neuroses." 

6.  Eye  and  ear  strain. 

B.  HARMFUL  SUBSTANCES:     (1)  Metals,  (2)  Dusts,  (3)  Gases, 

vapors  and  fumes. 

(1)  METALS:  antimony,  arsenic,  brass,  copper,  iron,  lead, 
manganese,  mercury,  phosphorus,  silver,  steel,  tin, 
zinc. 

(a)  Lead  Occupations: 

Lead  miners. 

Makers  of  white  and  red  lead. 

Plumbers  (solder). 

Gas-fitters  (red  lead). 

Painters  (especially  house  painters  and  those  who 
sandpaper  the  paint  on  walls,  carriages,  automo- 
biles, tram  cars,  etc.). 

Putty  makers. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  767 

• 

B.     HARMFUL  SUBSTANCES  —  Continued. 

(a)  Lead  Occupations — Continued. 

Solderers  of  tin,  brass,  zinc,  copper,  etc. 
Makers  of  tinfoil  and  metal  bottle  caps. 
Workers  in  storage  batteries. 
Printers,  type  founders  and  setters. 
Jewelers  and  workers  in  electric  connection  (solder). 
Workers  in  brass  foundries  and  brass  polishers. 
Polishers  of  glazed  pottery. 
"White  rubber  workers. 
Makers  of  car  buffers  and  brakes. 
File  makers. 
Harness  makers. 
Users  of  amalgams  (dentists,  etc.). 

(by  Other  Metal  Occupations: 

Antimony :  workers  in  pigments. 

Arsenic :  Twenty-seven  trades,  including  wall 
paper,  artificial  flowers,  chemicals,  glass,  oil-cloth, 
etc. 

Brass  and  tin  (same  hazard  as  lead,  derived  from 
solder  and  amalgam). 

Bronze  powders,  makers  of  bronzed  articles  (vari- 
ous metals). 

Copper  miners,  smelters,  electroplaters. 

Iron  and  steel  (mechanical  action  only,  causing  in- 
jury to  lungs  [pneumokoniosis]  and  to  eyes. 

Manganese  (pigments  and  alloys). 

Mercury:  Hat  pressers,  workers  in  explosives, 
makers  of  mirrors,  mercurial  pumps,  barometers 
and  thermometers,  etc. ;  gold  and  antimony  miners. 

Gold  cyanid. 

Phosphorus   (workers  in  matches). 

Silver  (poisonous  chiefly  as  a  nitrate),  mirror  mak- 
ers, electroplating. 

Zinc,  makers  of  white  paint,  painters. 


768  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

(2)  DUSTS: 

(a)  Insoluble  Inorganic  Dusts  (irritating  the  respiratory 

passages)  : 

Flint,  silica,  sand  (sand  blasts,  sandpaper). 

Carbon  (coal,  soot). 

Brick  dust,  marble,  granite,  terra  cotta. 

Cement. 

Asphalt. 

Enamel. 

Glass,  quartz. 

Lime,  gypsum. 

Meerschaum. 

Phosphates,  guano. 

Plaster. 

Emory. 

Diamonds. 

Metal  filings:  lead,  brass,  iron  and  steel,  etc, 

(b)  Soluble  Inorganic  Dusts  (liable  to  be  swallowed  and 

absorbed)  : 

Metal  filings  of  lead,  brass  and  zinc,  arsenic,  mer- 
cury and  silver  salts. 

(c")   Organic  Dusts: 

Sawdust,  fur,  skins,  feathers,  broom  and  straw, 
flour  and  grain,  jute,  flax  (linen),  hemp,  cot- 
ton, wool  (worsted,  etc.),  carpet  dust,  ashes 
and  street  sweepings,  tobacco  and  tobacco  box 
dust,  hides  and  leather,  felt,  rags  and  paper, 
horsehair. 

(3)   GASES,   VAPOBS  AND  FUMES: 

Illuminating  gas  (C.O.). 
Gases  from  coke  and  coal. 

Carbon  dioxid  (brewers'  vats,  bakers'  ovens,  aer- 
ated waters). 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  769 

(3)  GASES,  VAPORS  AND  FUMES  —  Continued: 

Chromic  acid  and  chlorine. 

Mineral  acids,   sulphuric,  hydrochloric,  nitric,  etc. 

(acid  factory  workers,  engravers,  etchers  and 

lithographers) . 
Mercury  cyanid. 
Heated  lead. 
Ammonia. 

Naphtha  (dry  cleaning)  and  benzine. 
Tar  and  creosote  distillers. 

Asphalt  and  petroleum  products  (vaseline  etc.). 
Wood  alcohol. 
Smoke  (firemen). 
Varnish  makers,  varnishers. 
Arseniated  hydrogen  (copper  refiners). 
Amyl  alcohol. 
Dinitrobenzol. 
Nitro-glycerine. 
Carbon  disulphid. 
Chlorine,  chloride  of  lime. 
Formaldehyde. 
Hydrofluoric  acid. 
Nitrous  gases. 
Prussic  acid. 
Pyridine. 

Sulphur  and  sulphuretted  hydrogen. 
Aniline. 

(d)  INFECTIVE  MATERIALS:    Hides  (anthrax,  etc.), 

II.  WORKERS  UNDER  HARMFUL  CONDITIONS: 
1.  Heat  and  Moisture: 

(a)  Heat:      Stokers,    miners,    roofers,    foundrymen,    pud- 

dlers,  glass-blowers. 

(b)  Moisture:     Linen  weavers  and  spinners,  clay  mixers 

(pottery),  oystermen. 

(c)  Heat  and  Moisture:     Laundry  women,  drivers,  dyers. 

25 


770  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

II.  WORKERS  UNDER  HARMFUL  CONDITIONS  —  Continued: 

2.  Excessive  Light:    Glass  blowers,  foundrymen,  electric  light 

men,  X-ray  workers  (eye-strain,  burns  of  skin,  nervous 
disorders),  electro-metallurgy. 

3.  Compressed  Air:     Caisson  workers,  divers. 

4.  Confined  Air:     (All  bad  ventilation.) 

5.  Confined  Positions  and  Overuse  of  Nerves  and  muscles: 

Nerve-strain  and  fatigue  —  the  "  Occupation  Neuroses." 
Palsy,  cramps  (writer's,  telegrapher's,  typewriter's) 
sciatica,  neuritis,  neuralgia,  gastric  and  intestinal  dis- 
orders, general  "nervousness"  and  insomnia,  de- 
formities of  chest  from  cramped  positions  (tailors.) 

Effect  of  pressure,  blows,  vibrations,  repeated  muscular 
contractures.  Position  in  standing  (motormen,  etc.), 
leaning  toward  one  side  as  at  a  bench. 

Vaso-motor  disturbances,  reflexes,  spasticity,  dysaesthe- 
sia. 

6.  Ear-Strain: 

Boiler-makers,  rivetters,  gunners. 

*  D.  DISEASES: 

7.  Diseases  of  the  Respiratory  System: 

(a)  Due  to  hard  inorganic  dusts :  Bronchitis,  em- 

physema, pneumokoniosis  (cirrhosis  of  the 
lung.) 

(b)  Due  to  soft  organic  dusts:     Rhinitis,  coryza, 

laryngitis,    acute   and   chronic   bronchitis, 
asthma,  lung  abscess. 

(c)  Associated    diseases:      Tuberculosis,     pneu- 

monia. 

II.  Diseases  of  the  Circulatory  System: 

Enlargement   of    the    heart,    arteriosclerosis, 
aneurism,  varicose  veins. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  771 

D.  DISEASES  —  Continued: 

III.  Diseases  of  the  Kidneys: 

Chronic  Bright's  disease  (chronic  interstitial 
nephritis.) 

IV.  Diseases  of  the  Alimentary  System: 

Chronic  dyspepsia,  chronic  gastritis,  gastric 
nicer,  chronic  constipation. 

V.  Diseases  of  the  Skin: 

Ulcers,  eczema,  chronic  fissures,  etc. 

VI.  Diseases  of  the  Nerves  and  Muscles : 

Paralyses,  spasm  (tic),  tremors,  cramp,  pain, 
neuritis,  neuralgia,  sciatica,  muscular  atro- 
phy, insomnia. 

VII.  Diseases  of  the  Eye  and  Ear: 

Conjunctivitis,  optic  neuritis,  deafness,  etc. 

INFLUENCE  OF: 

Alcoholism. 
Syphilis. 
Foul  air. 
Poor  food: 
Fatigue  and  worry. 

ASSOCIATED  DISEASES: 

Tuberculosis. 
Pneumonia. 
Chronic  bronchitis. 


772  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

CONDENSED  CLASSIFICATION  USED  FOR  COLLECTING  DATA  IN 
PROF.  OILMAN  THOMPSON'S  Clinic. 

OCCUPATION  DISEASES. 
I.  DISEASES  OF  THE   RESPIRATORY   SYSTEM: 

Solid  Irritants;  Fumes. 

[A]  SOLID  IRRITANTS: 

1.  Sharp  insoluble  mineral  dusts,  as  steel,  silica,  emery, 

glass,  flint. 

2.  Soluble  metal  dusts,  as  lead  filings. 

3.  Soft  organic  dust,  as  particles  of  cotton,  wool,  grain, 

feathers,  etc. 

INVESTIGATE  ESPECIALLY:  weavers,  spinners  workers  in 
fur,  feathers,  flax,  jute,  wool,  horsehair,  cotton,  to- 
'  bacco,  grain  elevators,  street  sweepers,  subway  and 
tunnel  employees,  ashmen,  coal  heavers,  stokers,  fire- 
men, chimney  sweepers,  plasterers,  cement  grinders, 
pottery  polishers,  porcelain  workers,  grinders  of 
meerschaum,  scissors,  knives,  needles,  etc.,  workers 
in  leather,  skin  and  paper,  wood-sawyers,  stone- 
cutters, brass  polishers,  filers  of  iron  and  steel,  brick 
makers,  emery  grinders,  diamond  and  glass  cutters. 

[B]  Toxic  FUMES: 

Workers  in  asphalt,  chromic  acid,  engravers  and  etchers, 
copper  refiners  (arseniated  hydrogen),  hat  pressers 
(mercury),  beer  brewers  (C02),  matches,  gas  house 
workers,  wall  papers  (arsenic),  dyers,  workers  in 
veneer,  wood  alcohol,  benzine,  mercury  cyanid,  di- 
nitro-benzol ;  H2  S  and  CO  fumes,  aniline  oil,  acet- 
elene,  tar,  creosote,  nitro-glycerine. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  773 

II.  METAL  POISONING  DISEASES. 


[A]     LEAD: 


Painters,  makers  of  white  lead,  type  founders  and  set- 
ters, solderers  and  tinsmiths,  pottery  glazers,  gas  fit- 
ters (red  lead),  rubber  (white  lead),  metal  cork  caps, 
file  makers,  electrical  equipment  (solder.) 


[B]   OTHER  METALS: 


Mercury:  Workers  in  mirrors,  mercurial  pumps,  in- 
candescent lights,  barometers. 

Zinc  oxide  paint :  Workers  in  bronze,  copper  and  brass 
(ascertain  per  cent  of  alloy  used),  tin,  bronze,  pow- 
ders, workers  in  wall  papers  and  feathers  (arsenic), 
gold  cyanid. 

III.  TRAUMATIC  AND  OCCUPATION  NEUROSES. 

Nature  of  the  trauma  or  strain.  Duration  of  the  occu- 
pation. Hours  of  work.  Nerves  or  muscles  affected. 
Neuritis,  pain,  cramp,  paralysis.  Concentration  of 
attention,  as  in  caring  for  machines.  Strain  of  eyes 
and  ears.  Effect  of  pressure,  blows,  vibrations,  re- 
peated muscular  contractures.  Position  in  standing, 
leaning  toward  one  side,  or  sitting  in  cramped  pos- 
tures as  in  tailoring.  Interference  with  proper  lung 
expansion,  and  deformities  of  chest.  Gastric  neu- 
roses from  errors  in  diet  and  occupation.  General 
"  nervousness  "  from  overwork  and  strain. 

Examine  patient  for  vaso-motor  disturbances,  reflexes, 
dyssesthesia,  spasticity. 


774  BKJEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Blank  Form  for  Recording  Cases  of  Metal  Poisoning. 

Metal  poisoning  diseases.    Diagnosis        Case  No.        Hist.  No. 
Name:  Age:      M.  F.      S.  M.  W. 

Occupation : 
Occupation  in  detail: 

Drinker  (hard,  moderate,  abstainer).     Syphilis  (years) 
Years  employed      Hours  of  work      No.  of  co-workers      Are  they 
also  affected  ? 

Prophylactic  instructions  ? 

Washing  facilities  (good,  poor).    Lunch  eaten  where ? 
Ventilation  of  room?  Masks,  respirators  (for  fumes) 

Room  cleaned,  how  often? 

Details    of    metal:    dust,    filings,    fumes,    alloys    (composition) 

Solder  ? 

Port  of  entry:    mouth,  nose,  finger-nails. 

Protective  agents:    gum  or  tobacco  chewing?     Milk?       Wife's 
miscarriages  ? 

Physical  examination:  gums  teeth  beard? 

arteriosclerosis  blood  pressure-  heart,  size 

murmurs  lungs 

digestion  constipation 

nervous  system:    neuritis  cramps  palsy 

hands:    eczema  fissures  ulcers 

Blood  examination:  Hb.$>  red  cells  white  cells 

basophiles 
Urine  examination:  alb.  casts  sp.gr.       lead? 

Eyes:   trauma  injury  by  heat,  light 

Acute  symptoms  at  beginning  of  work  vertigo 

Gastrointestinal  nervousness 

Synopsis  of  present  symptoms:   chief  complaint 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  775 

Blank  Form  for  Recording  Cases  of  Respiratory  Diseases. 

Respiratory  diseases:   dust,  fumes:     Diagnosis 

Case  No.  Hist.  No. 

Name  Age        M.  F.        S.  M.  W. 

Occupation : 

Occupation  in  detail: 

Drinker  (hard,  moderate,  abstainer).     Syphilis  (years) 

Years  employed  Hours  of  work  No.  of  co-workers 

Are  they  also  affected? 

Prophylactic  instructions  ? 

Ventilation:    Fans,  hoods,  windows   (open,  shut).     Masks? 

Respirators  ? 

Room  cleaned,  how  often  ? 

Exposure  to  cold,  heat  or  wet? 

Physical  examination  of  pharynx 

lungs  heart 

General  condition:  Weight        anemia,  Hb.%       r.  b.  c.     w.  b.  c. 

digestion 

cough  sputum  exam. 

Acute  symptoms  at  beginning  of  work;  coryza,  headache: 

Note  especially:  recurrent  bronchitis,  asthma,  dyspnoea,  rhinitis, 
laryngitis,  vertigo,  pneumokoniosis,  tuberculosis. 
Onset  of  tuberculosis  in  relation  to  duration  of  employment. 

Present  symptoms:  chief  complaint 


776  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

3.     SEVEN  DAY  LABOR  LEGISLATION. 
JOHN  A.  FITCH,  The  ''  Survey. ' 

October  31,  1911. 

ME.     ABRAM    I.    ELKUS,    Factory    Investigating    Commission, 
165  Broadway,  City: 

DEAB  SIB: 

According  to  your  request,  I  am  sending  you  with  this  a  state- 
ment, which  can  hardly  be  called  a  brief,  designed  to  throw  a 
little  light  on  the  situation  in  the  continuous  industries. 

I  have  not  thought  it  proper  to  draft  a  bill  for  your  consider- 
ation, though  I  have  tried  to  indicate  what  I  think  is  the  proper 
form  of  law.  In  my  statement  I  have  included  some  of  the 
most  significant  things  to  be  found  in  court  decisions  relating 
to  this  subject. 

With  this  statement,  I  am  including  two  tables,  indicating  the 
amount  of  seven-day  work  in  certain  callings  in  New  York  and 
Minnesota.  I  am  sending  it  to  you  for  these  two  States  simply 
because  there  is  no  data  available  for  any  other  States  in  the 
Union  that  I  have  been  able  to  find.  My  reason  for  sending  you 
figures  for  another  State  is  simply  so  that  you  can  judge  from 
the  figures  there  represented  something  of  what  the  figures  would 
be  in  New  York,  if  we  could  obtain  them.  For  example :  in  the 
Minnesota  list  there  are  11,358  seven-day  workmen  in  hotels  and 
restaurants;  we  have  no  figures  whatever  for  hotels  and  restau- 
rants in  New  York  State,  but  if  we  were  to  obtain  them,  we 
should  find,  of  course,  a  very  much  larger  number  than  are  em- 
ployed in  the  State  of  Minnesota. 

The  table  which  I  am  sending  you,  showing  seven-day  work- 
men in  New  York,  you  will  find  very  incomplete.  I  have  listed 
on  this  table  all  of  the  important  industries  which  I  personally 
know  to  employ  workmen  seven  days  a  week.  For  many  of  these 
occupations  I  have  no  figures  whatever.  It  will  serve  to  show 
you,  however,  how  extensive  is  the  field  covered  by  the  continuous 
industries. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  f77 

Under  separate  cover,  I  am  sending  you  a  copy  of  the  bulletin 
of  the  New  York  State  Department  of  Labor,  for  September,  1910. 
On  pages  377  to  403  inclusive,  you  will  find  a  discussion  which 
1  prepared  on  this  subject  of  seven-day  labor,  in  which  I  go  into 
the  constitutional  question  involved.  On  pages  450  to  464  inclu- 
sive, you  will  find  tables  giving  extensive  information  on  this 
subject.  On  page  464  you  will  find  citations  to  all  of  the  im- 
portant court  decisions  that  have  been  made  in  this  country  on 
the  question  of  the  constitutionality  of  the  Sunday  laws. 

If  after  examining  this  material  you  care  to  have  me  come  be- 
fore the  Commission,  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  so.  I  do  not  think  that 
I  shall  be  able  to  add  anything  to  the  information  which  I  am  now 
sending  you.  I  shall  be  glad,  however,  if  you  desire,  to  go  into 
greater  detail  or  to  express  an  opinion  more  fully  than  I  have 
here. 

Yours  very  truly, 

JOHN  A.  FITCH. 

I.  AMOUNT  OF  SEVEN-DAY  WORK. 
(1)   In  New  York: 

Out  of  a  total  of  1,138,965  wage  earners  in  factories  in  New 
York,  reported  to  the  Factory  Inspection  Bureau  in  1909,  30,467 
were  reported  as  working  an  excess  of  63  hours  per  week.  This 
is  2  and  67-100  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of  wage  earners 
reported. 

Sixty  hours  per  week  indicates  a  ten-hour  day  six  days  in  the 
week.  More  than  63  hours  indicates  the  probability  of  Sunday 
work. 

From  personal  examination  of  the  files  of  the  Factory 
Bureau,  made  when  I  was  an  employee  of  the  State  Department 
of  Labor,  I  know  that  these  wage  earners  who  worked  an  excess 
of  63  hours  per  week,  varied  generally  in  the  time  of  their  weekly 
employment  from  65  hours  to  119  hours;  the  former  indicating 
ten  hours  of  regular  work  for  six  days  and  one-half  day  on  Sun- 
day; the  latter  indicating  an  average  of  seventeen  hours  per  day 
for  a  full  seven  days  per  week.  This  latter  schedule  existed 
in  a  certain  canning  establishment. 


778  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

In  March,  1910,  the  secretaries  of  a  considerable  number  of 
labor  unions  in  the  State  reported  to  the  State  Bureau  of  Labor 
Statistics,  335,814  members.  Out  of  this  total  they  reported 
35,742  (10  and  6-10  per  cent  of  the  whole  number)  as  working 
regularly  on  Sundays.  Most  of  them,  all  but  698,  Avorked  every 
Sunday.  Twenty-eight  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-three 
(8  and  4-10  per  cent  of  the  whole  number  reported)  worked  as 
long  on  Sunday  as  on  week  days.  The  remainder  worked  a 
shorter  schedule. 

Since  organized  labor  is  naturally  opposed  to  seven-day  labor, 
it  would  be  natural  to  suppose  that  the  proportion  of  seven-day 
labor  in  the  unorganized  trades  would  be  much  larger. 

(For  the  figures  quoted  above  see  report  of  Bureau  of  Factory 
Inspection  for  1909;  table  14,  page  281  and  Bulletin  of  the  New 
York  Department  of  Labor,  September  1910;  table  12,  pages 
450-451.  See  full  table  accompanying  this  report,  showing  the 
number  of  seven-day  workmen  by  industries.) 

(2)  Massachusetts: 

In  1907  a  Joint  Committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature, 
after  an  investigation,  reported  that  221,985  men  in  sixteen  trades 
and  callings,  not  including  factories,  were  employed  on  Sundays 
in  that  State.  (Massachusetts  House  Document  No.  1160.) 

(3)  Minnesota: 

The  report  of  the  Bureau  of  Labor  of  the  State  of  Minnesota 
for  1909  and  1910  reports  98,558  workmen  working  seven  days 
per  week  in  that  State.  (See  accompanying  table  for  number  of 
seven-day  workers  by  industries.) 

n. 

-  All  of  these  reports  are  incomplete  and  fragmentary.  Minne- 
sota has  come  nearer  than  any  other  State  apparently  to  recording 
the  full  number  of  seven-day  workers  within  her  borders. 

In  New  York  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  with  any 
accuracy  at  all  the  number  of  seven-day  workmen.  For  example : 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  779 

the  hotels,  restaurants  and  railroads  probably  employ  more  -work- 
men seven  days  per  week  than  are  to  be  found  in  any  other  calling. 
Yet  hours  of  labor  for  these  enterprises  are  not  reported  to  any 
public  agency.  In  other  States,  excepting  Massachusetts,  no 
attempt  of  any  importance  has  ever  been  made  to  ascertain  the 
extent  of  seven-day  operation.  Hence  it  is  evident  that  one 
of  the  first  necessities  is  an  investigation  to  ascertain  the  number 
and  character  of  continuous  industries,  whether  they  are  neces- 
sarily continuous,  and  the  number  of  workmen  they  employ. 

III.  LEGISLATION. 

(1)  Necessity  of  it: 

The  old  colonial  Sunday  necesarily  has  passed  away.  The 
Sunday  laws  have  been  inadequate  to  preserve  the  Sabbath  intact, 
and  they  have  been  of  even  less  effect  as  a  protection  to  working- 
m3n.  A  consideration  of  the  industrial  conditions  actually  exist- 
ir^  at  the  present  time  reveals  the  fact  that  neither  is  the  Sabbath 
preserved  nor  are  workmen  protected  by  the  present  laws. 

(2)  A  Rest  Day  Law.     (One  day  in  seven.} 

In  Europe,  Switzerland  adopted  such  a  law  as  far  back  as  1878, 
and  Spain  followed  in  1904.  Now  most  of  the  European 
countries  have  adopted  the  principle.  Canada  on  the  north  of  us 
and  Chile  and  Argentina  on  the  south  have  enacted  it  into  law. 

The  principle  is  simply  this :  While  it  may  be  necessary  for  an 
industry  to  operate  continuously  every  day  in  the  week,  it  is  not 
therefore  necessary  for  workmen  to  labor  every  day  in  the  week. 
Accordingly,  it  may  be  required  that  those  industries  which  have 
to  be  in  operation  on  Sundays,  shall  allow  every  employee  at  work 
on  that  day  a  full  day  of  rest  on  some  other  day.  Under  such 
a  law,  either  the  industry  will  have  to  stop  one  day  a  week  or  else 
the  working  force  will  have  to  be  increased  by  one-sixth  and  the 
employees  receive  their  rest  period  on  different  days  by  rotation 
through  the  week;  that  is,  one  group  of  employees  would  have 
Sunday  as  a  rest  day,  another  Monday,  and  so  on  through  the 
week.  Thus  the  full  quota  of  workmen  would  always  be  employed 


780  BBIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

and  the  industry  would  not  suffer,  but  every  man  would  have  a 
day  of  rest.  Such  a  law  protects  the  industry  and  the  workmen 
both,  and  it  naturally  tends  to  protect  the  Sabbath  much  more 
than  the  laws  now  in  existence.  It  penalizes  continuous  opera- 
tion by  requiring  the  addition  of  one-sixth  to  the  working  force 
and  hence  to  the  pay-roll.  Accordingly,  the  seven-day  industries 
that  are  not  necessarily  continuous  would  tend  to  go  back  to  a 
f.ix-day  schedule  and  the  day  of  rest  would  naturally  be  Sunday. 
This  is  a  system  that  the  American  Telegraph  and  Telephone 
Company  adopted  some  years  ago.  It  is  a  custom  followed  by 
most  newspaper  offices,  and  now  it  is  being  adopted  by  the 
U.  S.  Steel  Corporation,  the  Lackawanna  Steel  Co.  and  by  other 
large  steel  companies. 

(3)  Form  of  Law  Required: 

(a)  Sunday  should  be  designated  as  the  universal  day  of  rest. 

(b)  Continuous  industries  should  be  licensed.    Switzerland  has, 
since  1876,  licensed  those  industries  which  have  to  be  operated  at 
night.     This  brings  the  industries  to  a  special  degree  under  the 
control  of  the  State.     The  Switzerland  law  particularly  specified 
that  no  industry  may  be  licensed  to  operate  at  night  unless  the 
working  time  is  no  more  than  eleven  hours. 

The  Commissioner  of  Labor  is  the  logical  officer  in  this  State 
to  administer  such  a  law  and  to  issue  licenses  at  his  discretion, 
when  he  is  convinced  that  the  industries  are  of  necessity  continu- 
ous. The  law  should  prescribe  carefully  what  industries  are  to 
be  considered  as  continuous  industries.  It  is  very  important  that 
this  legislation  should  be  under  the  control  of  the  Department  of 
Labor.  At  present,  Sunday  laws  in  this  country  are  in  the  penal 
code,  and  the  officials  of  the  Labor  Department  have  nothing  to 
do  with  their  enforcement 

(c)  Having  designated  Sunday  as  the  general  rest  day,  and 
having  granted  exceptions  to  this  rule  in  the  case  of  industries 
that  are  necessarily  continuous,  the  law  should  provide  that  no 
workman  should  be  required  or  permitted  to  work  for  his  em- 
ployer more  than  six  days  per  week.     This  will  compel  the  em- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  781 

ployer  to  grant  each  man  a  day  of  rest  some  time  during  the  week. 
The  law  must  also  provide  fully  for  the  protection  of  every  man's 
religion;  so  that  if  some  other  day  than  Sunday  is  observed  by 
any  man  as  a  day  of  rest  or  worship,  he  should  not  be  interfered 
with  if  he  desires  to  pursue  his  regular  work  in  a  quiet  and 
orderly  manner  on  Sunday.  The  only  reason  for  designating  Sun- 
day as  a  day  of  rest  is  that  a  large  majority  of  the  people  in  this 
country  do  already  observe  that  day. 

IV.  CONSTITUTIONALITY  OF  ONE-DAY-IN-SEVEN  LEGISLATION. 

The  principle  underlying  rest-day  legislation,  such  as  is  here 
recommended,  has  been  approved  by  the  courts  so  often  that  there 
can  be  little  doubt  that  such  legislation  would  be  declared  valid. 
The  Sunday  laws  now  on  the  statute  books  are  upheld  solely  as 
police  regulations. 

As  long  ago  as  1853  an  Ohio  court  went  on  record  to  the  effect 
that  a  Sunday  law  is  a  police  regulation,  neither  weakened  or 
strengthened  by  the  fact  that  the  day  of  rest  enjoined  is  the  Sab- 
bath. "  Wisdom  requires  that  men  should  refrain  from  labor  at 
least  one  day  in  seven,  and  the  advantages  of  having  the  day  of  rest 
so  fixed,  and  so  fixed  as  to  happen  at  regularly  recurring  intervals, 
are  too  obvious  to  overlook.  It  was  within  the  constitutional  com- 
petency of  the  General  Assembly  to  require  this  cessation  of  labor 
and  to  name  the  day  of  rest." 

Bloom  v.  Richards,  2  Warden,  388. 

In  1877  the  Supreme  Court  of  Massachusetts  said,  "  The  legisla- 
tive authority  to  provide  for  its  (Sunday's)  observance  is  derived 
from  its  general  authority  to  regulate  the  business  of  the  com- 
munity and  to  provide  for  its  moral  and  physical  welfare." 

Commonwealth  v.  Has,  122  Mass.  10. 

The  following  citations  indicate  similar  views  not  only  of  State 
Courts,  but  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United  States : 

"  That  Sunday  is  kept  as  holy  by  most  Christian  denomina- 
tions, neither  adds  to,  nor  detracts  from  the  validity  of  the  enact- 


782  BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ment.    Had  any  other  day  of  the  week  been  selected,  the  enactment 
would  have  had  the  same  binding  force." 

Richmond  v.  Moore,  107  Illinois,  429. 

k<  There  can  be  no  well-founded  doubt  of  its  (Sunday  Law) 
being  a  police  regulation  ....  for  the  frequent  and  total  suspen- 
sion of  the  toils,  cares  and  strain  of  mind  or  muscle  incident  to 
pursuing  an  occupation  or  common  employment,  is  beneiicial  to 
every  individual,  and  incidentally  to  the  community  at  large,  the 
general  public.  Leisure  is  no  less  essential  than  labor  to  the  well- 
being  of  man.  Short  intervals  of  leisure  at  stated  periods  reduce 
wear  and  tear,  promote  health,  favor  cleanliness,  encourage  social 
intercourse,  afford  opportunities  for  introspection  and  retrospec- 
tion, and  tend  in  a  high  degree  to  expand  the  thoughts  and 
sympathies  of  people,  enlarge  their  information  and  elevate  their 

morals Without  frequent  leisure,  the  process  of  forming 

character  could  only  be  begun;  it  could  never  advance  or  be  com- 
pleted, people  would  be  mere  machines  of  labor  or  business  — 
nothing  more." 

"  If  a  law  which,  in  essential  respects,  betters  for  all  the  people 
the  conditions,  sanitary,  social  and  individual,  under  which  their 
daily  life  is  carried  on  and  which  contributes  to  insure  for  each, 
oven  against  his  own  will,  his  minimum  allowance  of  leisure,  can 
not  be  rightfully  classed  as  a  police  regulation,  it  would  be  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  any  law  that  could." 

Hennington  v.  The  State,  90  Ga.  396. 
(3) 

"  It  is  to  the  interest  of  the  State  to  have  strong,  robust, 
healthy  citizens,  capable  of  self-support,  of  bearing  arms,  and  of 
adding  to  the  resources  of  the  country.  Laws  to  effect  this  purpose 
by  protecting  the  citizens  from  overwork,  and  requiring  a  general 
day  of  rest  to  restore  his  strength  and  preserve  his  health  have 
an  obvious  connection  with  the  public  welfare.  Independent  of 
any  question  relating  to  morals  or  religion,  the  physical  welfare  of 
the  citizens  is  a  subject  of  such  primary  importance  to  the  State, 
and  has  such  a  direct  relation  to  the  common  good,  as  to  make 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  783 

laws  tending  to  promote  that  object  proper  under  the  police  power, 
and  hence  valid  under  the  constitution.  .  .  .  The  statute  under 
discussion  tends  to  effect  this  result,  because  it  requires  persons 
engaged  in  all  kind  of  business  that  takes  many  hours  each  day,  to 
refrain  from  carrying  it  on  during  one  day  in  seven.  This  affords 
an  opportunity,  recurring  at  regular  intervals,  for  rest,  needed 
both  by  the  employers  and  the  employed,  and  the  latter,  at  least, 
may  not  have  the  power  to  observe  a  day  of  rest  without  the  aid 
of  legislation." 

People  v.  Havnor,  149  N.  Y.  195. 

"  The  statute  under  consideration  is  not  class  legislation,  nor 
does  it  violate  any  of  the  provisions  of  the  constitution.  It  is 
clearly  within  the  constitutional  power  of  the  Legislature  to  re- 
quire this  cessation  of  labor  for  one  day  in  seven,  and  to  designate 
the  day  of  rest." 

State  v.  Nesbit,  8  Kan.  App,  104. 

"  The  Legislature  having,  as  will  not  be  disputed,  power  to 
enact  laws  to  promote  the  order  and  to  secure  the  comfort,  hap- 
piness and  health  of  the  people,  it  was  within  its  discretion  to 
fix  the  day  when  all  labor,  within  the  limits  of  the  State,  works 
of  necessity  and  charity  excepted,  should  cease." 

Hennington  v.  Georgia,  163  U.  S.  299. 


784 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 


NUMBER  OF  MEN  ENGAGED  IN  SEVEN  DAY  LABOR  IN  MINNESOTA. 
(Keport  Minn.  Bureau  of  Labor,  1910,  Table  D,  pp.  104-119.) 


Food  Products: 

Bakeries 

Brewing. 

Confectionery 

Creamery,   Past,    and 

Ice  Cream 

Flour  and  Grist  Mills 
Grain,      cleaning      and 


storing. 


56 
96 
32 

532 
62 

2 
Iron  and  Steel  Products: 

Autos  and  Bicycles.  .          95 

Blast  Furnaces 279 

Paper    and   Pulp    Pro- 
ducts: 

Paper  and  Pulp  Mills       299 
Chemicals    and    Allied 
Products: 

Oils 377 

Tallow  and  Fertilizers  4 

General  Contracting  ...       218 
Public  Utilities: 

Heat,       Light       and 

Power 2,320 

Telegraph    and    Tele- 
phone, Express  and 
Messenger  Service.    3,207 
Transportation : 

Railroads 49,166 

Street  Railways  ....    3,705 

Ferries 7 

Mining  Operations  20,678 

Personal  Service: 

Barber      Shops      and 

Bath  Rooms 37 

Hospitals,  College  and 

other  Institutions..        180 
Hotels     and    Restau- 
rants  11,358 

Laundrv  Work  .  5 


Livery  and  Drayage. . 

Shoe  Shining 

Retail  Mercantile  Estab- 
lishments: 

Amusements 

Bakery  Goods 

Billiard  and  Pool .  .  . 
Houses, 
Station- 


Bowling 
Books    and 


ery 

Clothing  and  Gents' 
Furnishings 

Confectionery  and 
Cigars 

Dairy  Products    .... 

Drug  Stores 

Dry  Goods  and  No- 
tions  

Furniture  and  Under- 
taking  

General  Mdse 

Groceries 

Hardware 

Ice  Dealers 

Jewelry  and  Optical 
Goods 

Meat  Markets 

Nurseries  and  Florists 

Photographers  and 
Photograph  Sup- 
plies  

Toy?  and  Novelties.  . 
Wholesale  Mercantile 
Establishments : 

Commission  Mer- 
chants. . 


2,221 
81 


401 

11 

153 


2 
19 

1,171 

67 

1,081 

6 

25 

173 

85 

5 

13 

9 

46 
21 


48 
6 


99 


Total. 


98,558 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 


785 


LIST  OF  CONTINUOUS  INDUSTRIES  IN  NEW  YORK  AND  STATISTICS  OF  WAGE 
EARNERS  SO  FAR  AS  AVAILABLE 


INDUSTRIES 

WAGE  EARNERS   REPORTED  IN  SPECIFIED  INDUSTRIES 

BY  N.  Y.  FACTORY  INSPECTION 
BUREAU 

BY  TRADE  UNION 
SECRETARIES 

Total 
No. 
reported 

No. 
working 
63  hours 
or  more 
each 
week 

Per  cent, 
working 
63  hours 

Total 
No. 
reported 

No. 

working 
7  days 
a  week 

Per  cent, 
working 
7  davs 
a  week 

I.  Transportation: 
1  .  Steam  railroad  

15,604 

14,765 

94.6 

2.  Steam  railroad  shops.  .. 
3.  Electric  railroads  

22,036 

1,862 

8.44 

4.  Navigation  

1,929 
13,300 

1,929 
3  745 

100.0 
28.1 

5.  Cabs  and  teaming  . 

6.  Ice  and  milk  delivery.  .  . 

II.  Communication: 
1  .  Teiegraph  

1,889 

1,884 

99.7 

2.  Telephone  

3.  Newspapers  

III.  Manufacturing: 
1  .  Cement  and  lime  

1,375 
3,168 
399 
1,855 

10,688 
13,907 

1,087 
2,841 
12,991 
4,172 

980 
228 
116 
1.529 

4,584 
597 

591 
121 
5,660 
459 

71.3 
7.2 
29.0 

87.8 

42.9 
4.3 

54.4 
4.2 
43  5 
11.0 

2.  Smelting  and  refining.. 
3  .  Ore  crushing  

4    Blast  furnaces  

5.  Rolling  mills  and  steel 
works  

6.  Drugs  and  chemicals  .. 
7  .  Wood  alcohol  and  es- 
sential oils  

8    Mineral  oils  

9'  Paper  and  pulp  

10'  Flour  and  cereals  

7,927 
6,772 

500 
1,707 

6.3 
25.2 

13'  Sugar  and  molasses.  .  . 
14'  Canning,  etc  

5,155 
12,037 
16,749 
912 
9,049 

1,911 
910 
207 
515 
2,572 

37.0 
7.5 
1.2 
56.4 
28.4 

15-  Baking  —  bread,  etc.  .  . 
16.  Artificial  ice  

17.  Heat,  light,  power.  .  .  . 

IV.  Personal  service: 
1.  Hotels  and  restaurants. 

3,186 

1,002 

31.4 

3.  Bootblacks  

4.  Drug  clerks  

2,254 

13,925 
5,020 

294 

6.740 
2,244 

13.0 

48.4 
44.7 

V.  Miscellaneous: 
1.  Public  employment 

786  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

REST  DAY  LEGISLATION  IN  FOREIGN  COUNTRIES. 

The  Foreign  Rest  Day  Laws  may  be  divided  into  three  classes, 
those  naming  Sunday  as  the  regular  day  of  rest,  but  allowing  con- 
tinuous industries  to  operate  on  Sunday  provided  every  employee 
gets  one  day  of  rest  a  week ;  those  requiring  a  weekly  day  of  rest, 
without  designating  the  day;  and  those  requiring  regular  periods 
of  rest  of  less  than  a  day  in  duration,  at  stated  intervals.  The 
greater  part  of  the  legislation  comes  within  the  first  class. ' 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  the  foreign  rest  day  laws.  They 
have  been  secured  from  various  compilations,  to  which  citations  are 
given.  A  considerable  number  were  taken  from  the  English  edition 
of  the  Bulletin  of  the  International  Labor  Office,  cited  (E.  B.) 
the  publication  of  the  International  Association  for  Labor  Legisla- 
lation.  In  such  cases  the  citation  to  the  bulletin  is  given  together 
with  the  original  citation. 

Together  with  the  laws,  the  orders  and  decrees  which  have  the 
force  of  laws  are  presented.  No  attempt  has  been  made,  however, 
to  digest  the  voluminous  decrees  which  have  been  issued  explana- 
tory of  the  original  statutory  provisions.  The  full  text  of  the  more 
important  ones  may  be  found  in  the  International  Labor  Bulletin, 
together  with  citations  to  the  others. 

ARGENTINE  REPUBLIC. 
Law  of  September  6,  1905,  on  Sunday  Rest. 

(Annuaire   de   la    legislation    du   travail,    vol.    9,    1905,    pp.  43 

Bruxelles,  1906.) 

Art.  1.  Prohibits  Sunday  work  in  the  capital  of  the  Republic, 
either  for  any  one  else,  or  for  one's  self,  if  in  public,  in  manu- 
facturing establishments,  shops,  mercantile  houses  and  other 
establishments  or  workplaces,  without  any  exceptions  except  those 
provided  in  the  present  law  and  in  regulations  which  may  be 
issued  for  its  enforcement. 

Art.  2.     Excepted  from  the  preceding  prohibition,  are: 

1.  Work  not  susceptible  of  interruption  on  account  of  the 
nature  of  the  wants  it  is  to  supply,  or  on  account  of  technical 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  787 

reasons,  or  in  order  to  avoid  serious  damage  to  the  public  i/hterest 
or  to  the  industry  itself. 

2.  Necessary   work  of  repairing  and  cleaning,   which,  if  per- 
formed during  the  week,  would  bring  about  a  stoppage  of  work 
in  industrial  establishments. 

3.  Work  necessary  in  order  to  avoid  threatening  injury,  either 
oin  account  of  accidents  of  nature,  or  on  account  of  temporary 
circumstances  which  must  be  utilized. 

In  each  case  regulations  shall  fix  the  weekly  rest  to  be  allowed 
to  persons  affected  by  these  exceptions. 

Art.  3.  Xo  exception  to  the  obligation  of  a  weekly  rest  shall 
apply  to  women  and  children  less  than  16  years  old. 

Art.  4.  The  provisions  of  this  law  shall  not  apply  to  domestic 
servants. 

Art.  5.     Cafes  shall  be  closed  on  Sundays. 

Art.  6.  Unless  proof  to  the  contrary  is  furnished,  employers 
shall  be  held  responsible  for  violations  of  the  present  law,  and 
shall  be  fined  for  a  first  offense,  one  hundred  pesos,  and  in  case 
of  a  second  violation,  the  penalty  shall  be  double  this  fine  or 
fifteen  days  in  jail. 

Decree  issued  November  18,  1905,  in  accordance  with  act  of 
Sept.  6,  1905,  E.  B.  I.,  p.  387. 

Prohibits  labor  for  another,  or  for  one's  self  if  carried  on  in 
public,  in  capital  or  Republic,  from  midnight  Saturday  until  mid- 
night Sunday.  Exceptions  are  allowed  in  case  of  work  which 
cannot  be  interrupted. 

a.  On  account  of  nature  of  requirements  which  it  satisfies,  or 
of  the  serious  loss  that  would  accrue  to  the  public  interest  by  any 
interruption  in  such  work. 

b.  For  technical  reasons  and  serious  loss  to  public  interest. 


788  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

c.  On  account  of  temporary  circumstances  of  which  advantage 
must  be  taken. 

d.  On  account  of  requirements  satisfied  and  in  order  to  prevent 
serious  loss  accruing  to  industry. 

e.  In  case  of  processes  which  must  be  carried  out  because  they 
are  urgent. 

Where,  on  account  of  such  exceptions,  work  is  done  oai  Sunday, 
an  equivalent  period  of  rest  must  be  granted  during  the  week. 

AUSTRIA. 

Law  of  Jan,  16,  1895,  Le  Travail  du  Dimanche. 
(Office  du  Travail,  Belgium,  Bruxelles,  1896,  p.  87.) 

All  industrial  work  is  to  cease  on  Sunday  from  6  a.  m.  and  for 
a  period  of  24  hours.  Exceptions  are  made  in  the  case  of  the 
following: 

1.  Work  of  cleaning  or  repairing  necessary  to  keep  the  estab- 
lishments running,  and  which  could  not  be  performed  during  the 
week  without  interfering  with  the  work  or  without  danger  to  the 
life  and  health  of  the  workers. 

2.  Necessary  supervising. 

3.  Work  to  take  inventory  once  a  year. 

4.  Work  of  a  temporary  nature   that  cannot  be  delayed,   on 
account  of  the  interest  of  the  public,  or  for  reasons  of  safety, 
or  in  cases  of  necessity. 

5.  Personal   work  of  the   owner  of  an  establishment,   if  per- 
formed without  the  help  of  workmen  and  not  in  public. 

Employers  employing  workmen  on  Sunday  at  the  kind  of  work 
mentioned  in  2,  3  and  4,  must  keep  a  register,  giving  for  each 
Sunday  the  names  of  workmen  employed,  the  place  and  duration 
of  employment  and  the  kind  of  work  performed.  This  register 
is  subject  to  the  examination  of  administrative  industrial  authori- 
ties and  industrial  inspectors. 

Concerning  the  work  mentioned  in  3  and  4. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  789 

Employers  must  notify  the  industrial  authorities  before  begin- 
ning the  work ;  but  if  the  necessity  of  beginning  or  continuing  such 
work  is  not  felt  until  Sunday,  the  industrial  authorities  must  be 
notified  as  soon  as  the  work  is  ended. 

If  the  work  mentioned  in  1,  2  and  4  prevent  the  workmen 
from  attending  religious  service  before  noon,  employers  must  on 
the  Sunday  next  following  allow  the  workmen  time  to  attend 
religions  service  before  noon. 

If  the  same  work  lasts  over  three  hours,  the  workmen  are 
entitled  to  a  rest  of  at  least  24  hours  on  the  following  Sunday, 
or  if  the  nature  of  the  work  does  not  allow  it,  to  a  day  of  rest 
during  the  week,  or  in  any  case,  to  a  rest  of  six  hours  two  days  in 
the  week. 

Law  of  July,  1902,  regulating  Government  Contract  on  railroad 

work. 

(Annuaire  de  la  legislation  du  travail,  V.  6,  1902,  p.  71.) 

The  law  requires  at  least  24  hours  rest  on  Sundays,  beginning 
not  later  than  6  a.  m.  for  all  workmen  on  government 
contract  work  on  railroads  or  in  establishing  connections 
therewith.  Exception  is  made  for  cleaning  and  mainte- 
nance work  necessary  to  continuous  operation  and  which 
could  not  be  done  during  the  week;  necessary  supervision  of  work 
and  other  necessary  work  of  a  temporary  character  that  must  be 
performed  in  the  interest  of  the  public.  There  must  be  a  record 
kept  of  the  -names  of  workmen  employed  on  Sunday,  together 
with  'the  duration  of  their  work.  If  the  latter  is  more  than  three 
hours,  the  workmen  so  employed  must  have  a  rest  of  at  least  24, 
hours  on  the  following  Sunday,  or  if  this  is  impossible,  on  a  week 
day,  or  a  rest  of  six  hours,  exclusive  of  night  rest,  on  two  week 
days. 

Ministerial  Order,  May  5,  1906,  E.  B.  I.,  p.  176. 

In  cement  stone  works  using  hot  air  currents  in  drying  cham- 
bers, Sunday  work  is  permitted,  but  must  be  kept  at  a  minimum 
of  necessity.  Those  working  over  3  hours  on  Sunday  must  have 
on  the  following  Sunday  24  continuous  hours  of  rest. 


790  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

Order  of  Minister  of  Agriculture  in  agreement  with  the  Minis- 
ter of  Interior,  relating  to  the  employment  of  young  persons  and 
children  in  mining  operations.  June  8,  1907,  E.  B.  II,  p.  215. 

(R.  G.  Bl.  No.  115.) 

6.  "  If  young  persons  are  employed  on  Sundays  in  pursuance 
of  S.  4  of  the  Act  of  21st  of  Jnne,  1884,  they  shall  be  allowed  a 
compensatory  day  of  rest  during  the  following  week." 

BOSNIA  AND  HERZEGOWINA. 

Order  of  April  20,  1907,  E.  B.  II,  pp.  361-362. 

(Gesetz  und  Veordnungsblatt  fur  Bosnien  und  die  Herzegowina 

VHI  Stock  ex.  1907.) 

A  weekly  day  of  rest  of  24  hours  must  be  allowed  in  all  indus- 
trial occupations.  The  day  of  rest  for  Christians  is  Sunday;  for 
Moslems  Friday,  and  for  Jews,  Saturday.  Workmen  may  be 
employed  on  days  of  rest  in  carrying  on  urgent  processes,  providing 
that  notice  is  sent  to  industrial  authorities.  A  compensatory  day 
of  rest  of  24  hours  must  be  allowed  to  employees  who  are  obliged 
to  work  on  the  usual  rest  day  for  more  than  three  hours. 

BELGIUM. 

Royal  Decrees,  Feby.  7,  1907,  and  March  2,  1907,  in  pursuance 

of  Act  of  July  17,  1905,  E.  B.  II,  No.  2,  pp.  XXIV,  217. 
Authorizing  hair  dressers  of  certain  cities  to  carry  on  business 
for  ten  hours  on  specified  Sundays,  provided  as  a  compensation, 
a  half-holiday  is  allowed  the  following  week. 

CANADA. 

An  Act  respecting  the  Lord's  day.     July  13,  1906.     E.  B.  Ill, 

pp.  101. 

(6  Edw.  VH.  c  27.) 

No  sales  are  to  be  made  or  business  done  or  labor  performed 
or  hired  to  be  performed  on  the  Lord's  Day,  but  works  of  neces- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  791 

sity  or  mercy  are  excepi.ed.  (These  are  defined  in  detail  and 
include  industries  or  businesses  usually  continuous.  No  employee 
may  work  at  receiving  or  transmitting  messages,  in  any  industrial 
process  or  in  transportation,  on  the  Lord's  Day,  unless  he  is 
allowed  twenty-four  consecutive  hours  of  rest  during  the  next  six 
days,  but  this  does  not  apply  where  the  day's  work  is  not  over 
eight  hours. 

CHILI. 
Law  of  June  26,  1907.     E.  B.  Ill,  pp.  37-38. 

(Boletin  del  Institute  de  Iveformas  Sociales  IV,  No.  40,  Octubre 
de  1907,  pp.  390-391.) 

Weekly  day  of  rest  must  be  allowed  for  "factories,  manufac- 
tories, workshops,  workrooms,  houses  of  business,  mine,  saltpetre 
works,  and  generally  all  public  and  private  enterprises  of  whatever 
description."  The  days  of  rest  are  Sundays,  unless  there  is  some 
express  arrangement  to  the  contrary,  and  January  1,  September 
18  and  19  and  December  25.  The  period  of  rest  begins  at  7  p.  m. 
on  the  day  preceding  the  day  of  rest  and  ends  at  6.  a.  m.  on  the 
day  following  the  day  of  rest. 

Exceptions  to  the  above  provisions  are: 

1.  Repairing  of  damages  due  to  circumstances  beyond  human 
control  or  to  accident. 

2.  Operations   requiring  continuous  work,   on  account  of  the 
needs  which  such  operations  satisfy,  or  on  account  of  technical 
reasons,  or  in  order  to  prevent  serious  injury  to  the  public  interest 
and  to  the  industry  concerned. 

3.  Enterprises  of  a  seasonal  character,  and  those  dependent  on 
the  operation  of  natural  forces. 

4.  Operations  indispensable   to  the  routine   of  enterprise,  and 
which  cannot  be  postponed,  as  the  cleaning  of  machinery  and  of 
boilers,  the  drawing  up  of  accounts,  taking  of  inventories,  eitc. 


792  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

In  the  case  of  the  exceptions,  there  must  be  a  day  of  rest  for 
all  every  two  weeks,  which  no  employee  can  contract  to  renounce. 
Children  under  16  and  women  are  not  allowed  to  contract  to 
renounce  the  weekly  rest  period  under  any  circumstances. 

DENMARK. 
E.  B.  I.,  p.  177. 

Act  regulating  work  in  bakeries  and  confectionery  business,  April 

6,  1906. 

At  Copenhagen  and  Fredericksburg  every  employee  in  such 
establishments  must  have  twenty-four  hours  continuous  rest,  each 
week.  In  other  cities,  sixteen  hours.  Men  in  cities  named  may 
work  not  over  three  hours  either  at  beginning  or  at  end  of  twenty- 
four  hour  period  preparing  yeast,  etc.  Men  in  other  cities  may 
work  not  over  one  hour  at  beginning  or  end  of  sixteen  hours  rest 
period  at  same  operation.  This  time  must  be  made  up  by  equiva- 
lent period  during  the  same  week. 

FRANCE. 
E.  B.  I,  p.  185. 

Act  of  July  13,  1906,  establishing  a  weekly  day  of  rest  for  em- 
ployees and  workmen. 

Provides  for  weekly  day  of  rest  of  twenty-four  hours  in  all 
establishments,  commercial  and  industrial.  The  rest-day  shall 
be  Sunday,  excepting  where  it  can  be  shown  that  a  simultaneous 
period  of  rest  on  Sunday  for  the  entire  staff  of  an  establishment 
would  be  injurious  to  public  interest,  or  would  disorganize  the 
normal  working  of  the  establishment  in  question.  In  such  a  case 
the  period  of  rest  may  be  given  in  any  one  of  the  following  ways : 

a.  On  a  day  other  than  Sunday  to  the  entire  staff. 

b.  From  noon  on  Sunday  to  noon  on  Monday. 

c.  On  the  afternoon  of  every  Sunday,    with    a    compensating 
period  of  rest  one  whole  day  in  every  fortnight,  by  rotation. 

d.  By  rotation  to  the  whole,  or  a  part  of  the  staff. 


BKIEFS  AND  MEMOBANDA.  793 

Exception  is  made  to  observation  of  regular  rest  period  in  case 
of  urgent  need.  Corresponding  rest  period  must  be  given  later. 

In  case  of  undertakings  subject  to  interruption  due  to  weather, 
interruptions  in  each  month  may  be  deducted  from  number  of 
ctays  of  rest  due  the  employees. 

In  open-air  industries  and  in  industries  having  to  do  with  per- 
ishable material,  the  weekly  rest  day  may  be  suspended  fifteen 
t  imes  in  year,  but  at  least  two  rest  days  must  come  in  each  month. 
The  provisions  of  the  act  do  not  apply  to  employees  engaged  in 
services  of  water  and  rail  transportation. 

Note. —  Where  continuous  operation  is  necessary,  resulting  in 
the  rotation  system  of  rest,  the  result  has  been,  in  a  majority  of 
cases,  to  increase  the  labor  force  by  one-seventh  and  to  increase 
the  daily  wage  in  the  same  degree.  (II.  S.  Consular  Report, 
September,  1908,  p.  90.) 

Engineers  and  Stokers.     E.  B.  I.,  p.  450. 

Order  of  Minister  of  Public  Works,  May  9,  1906,  amending  two 
orders  of  November  4,  1899. 

(E.  B.  L,  p.  432.) 

Requires  ten  hours  rest  and  not  over  ten  hours  work  in  work- 
ing day.  Any  nine  consecutive  days,  midnight  to  midnight,  shall 
have  not  over  thirty  hours  work  and  not  less  than  ninety  hours 
rest. 

Thirty  hours  continuous  rest  every  ten  days  for  road  engineers 
and  stokers  —  ten  hours  to  be  reckoned  as  part  of  the  total  ninety 
hours.  May  be  reduced  to  thirty  hours  in  fourteen  days  if  em- 
ployee sleeps  at  home. 

Artificer  engineers,  thirty  hours  rest  in  fourteen  days,  or 
twenty-four  in  ten  days  when  engineer  has  assistance  of  stoker. 
Where  engineer  works  single-handed,  thirty  hours  in  twelve  days, 
or  twenty-four  hours  in  eight  days. 

Guards.     E.  B.  I.,  p.  451. 

Period  of  employment  on  average  not  over  ten  hours  work  and 
not  less  than  ten  hours  rest.  In  fourteen  days  (consecutive)  not 
over  140  hours  employment  and  not  less  than  140  hours  rest. 


794  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

GERMANY. 

decree  of  the  Federal  Council  of  Jany.  23,  1902,  concerning  em- 
ployees in  cafes  and  restaurants. 

(Soziale  Rundschau,  Jany.,  1902. 

Apprentices  and  helpers  over  16  years  of  age,  in  cafes  and  res- 
taurants, must  have  one  uninterrupted  rest  of  at  least  eight  hours 
every  day,  and  those  under  16,  one  of  nine  hours.  In  addition, 
there  must  be  daily  rest  periods  of  a  total  duration  of  at  least  two 
hours,  exclusive  of  time  spent  at  meals.  Once  every  three  weeks 
there  shall  be,  instead  of  one  of  the  daily  uninterrupted  periods  of 
rest  mentioned  above,  an  uninterrupted  rest  period  of  at  least 
24  hours.  In  towns  having  more  than  20,000  inhabitants,  this  24- 
hour  period  is  to  come  every  two  weeks.  In  those  weeks  in  which 
a  24-hour  rest  period  does  not  fall,  there  is  to  be,  besides  the 
regular  daily  rest  periods  mentioned  above,  an  extra  rest  of  at  least 
six  hours,  between  8  a.  m.  and  6  p.  m. 

Notification  relating  to  exceptions  from  the  prohibition  of  Sunday 
work  in  industrial  undertakings,  May  23,  1906. 

(E.  B.  I.,  p.  155.) 

Provides  for  Sunday  work  in  glass  factories,  in  certain  cases, 
and  provides  for  rest  periods  during  week  in  compensation. 

CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE. 
E.  B.  I.,  p.  38,  Act  of  June  6,  1905. 

Provides  for  closing  of  shops  some  day  in  week,  at  1 :30,  and 
to  remain  closed  the  remainder  of  the  day.  On  such  day  the  em- 
ployees may  be  kept  only  in  case  of  necessity  and  then  compen- 
sating time  must  be  given  on  some  other  day  in  week. 

ITALY. 

Laws  of  July  7,  1907.     E.  B.  II.,  p.  288.     (B.  D.  U.  D.  L.  VIII, 
No.  1,  Luglio,  1907,  pp.  276-279.) 

All  persons  other  than  members  of  the  employers'  family,  en- 
gaged in  commercial  or  industrial  enterprises,  must  have  24  con- 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  795 

secutive  hours  of  rest  in  every  week.  Employers  must  not  extend 
the  hours  of  work  on  either  the  day  before  or  the  day  after  the  rest 
clay.  Law  does  not  apply  to  agriculture,  hunting,  fishing  or  trans- 
portation. Exceptions  are  as  follows:  Industries  dealing  with 
raw  materials  of  a  perishable  nature,  as  often  as  required ;  indus- 
tries liable  to  interruption  by  wind  or  water,  ten  weeks  in  the  year, 
in  which  case  the  period  of  rest  must  be  allowed  every  fortnight; 
industries  subject  to  periods  of  extraordinary  pressure,  six  weeks 
in  the  year. 

Weekly  rest  must,  on  principle,  be  on  Sunday,  but  in  the  follow- 
ing industries  rest  may  be  allowed  by  rotation  on  another  day: 
Industries  with  continuous  fire;  continuous  processes,  cheese- 
making,  seasonal  industries,  where  Sunday  work  is  necessary  for 
technical  reasons ;  industries  where  work  is  necessary  in  the  public 
interest,  as  gas  works,  water  works,  bakeries,  transport  undertak- 
ings, except  railways,  repair,  etc. ;  where  work  is  necessary  by  rea- 
son of  hygiene ;  trades  dealing  in  necessaries,  as  restaurants,  amuse- 
ments and  newspapers.  Rest  day  other  than  Sunday  may  be  pro- 
vided for  undertakings  in  the  open  air.  Sunday  afternoon  holi- 
day is  imposed  upon  certain  establishments  allowed  to  be  open 
Sunday  morning. 

PORTUGAL. 

Decree  establishing  a  weekly  day  of  rest,  August  3,  1907.     E.  B 

III,  1,  3. 

(Diario  do  Governs,  1907,  No.  176,  9  de  Agosto.) 

All  employees  of  commercial  and  industrial  enterprises  must  be 
allowed  a  weekly  rest  period  of  at  least  24  consecutive  hours  and 
on  the  day  fixed  as  the  rest  day,  factories,  work  places  and  com- 
mercial and  industrial  businesses  must  be  closed. 

Exempt  from  the  weekly  closing  provision  are  newspaper  busi- 
nesses, chemists,  hospitals,  undertakers'  businesses,  bathing  estab- 
lishments, bakeries,  restaurants,  inns,  eating  houses,  ice  factories, 
slaughter  houses,  businesses  for  the  sale  of  fresh  fruit,  garden  pro- 
duce, vegetables  and  fish,  dairies,  heater  works,  lighting  and  power 
plants,  undertakings  for  the  work  of  loading  and  unloading,  tele- 
phone offices,  mines,  and  all  industrial  enterprises  where  the  sus- 


796  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

pension  of  work  would  involve  damage  to  the  raw  materials  used 
therein  or  to  the  manufactured  goods,  or  which  are  of  such  nature 
that  work  must  be  carried  on  without  interruption.  In  these  en- 
terprises all  employees  must  be  allowed  a  day  of  rest  by  rotation 
through  the  week. 

Sunday  shall  be  the  day  of  rest,  except  where  a  suspension  on 
that  day  shall  entail  serious  loss  to  the  public  interest,  and  in  the 
cases  of  places  of  amusements  and  photographic  studios.  In  such 
cases  another  day  may  be  chosen.  An  exception  is  made  in  the 
case  of  pastry  works  on  certain  Sundays.  In  case  Sunday  is,  for 
any  reason,  unsuitable  as  a  day  of  rest  in  a  particular  industry  or 
trade,  the  civil  governor  may  fix  another  day,  or  readjust  the  rest 
period  so  that  half  of  it  may  fall  on  Sunday  and  half  on  Monday. 

Sunday  rest  may  be  suspended  to  facilitate  rescue  work,  repairs 
that  are  urgently  needed,  or  to  prevent  accidents,  but  in  every  case 
there  must  be,  on  the  next  day  or  days,  a  compensating  period  of 
rest. 

Violation  of  the  law  is  punishable  by  fine  and  imprisonment. 

SPAIN. 
Law  of  March  3,  1904. 

(Annuaire  de  la  legislation  du  travail  public  par  Poffice  du  travail 
de  Belgique,  1904,  p.  141.) 

Sunday  work  prohibited  in  factories,  work-shops,  stores,  fixed  or 
movable  markets,  mines,  quarries,  docks,  transportation,  public 
works,  construction,  repairing  or  demolishing  of  buildings,  agri- 
culture or  forestry,  establishments  or  services  dependent  on  the 
state,  province  or  municipality,  and  any  analogous  occupations. 

Exceptions  are  made  in  case  of : 

a.  Works  which  cannot  be  interrupted  either  because  of  the 
needs  satisfied  by  them,  or  for  technical  reasons,  or  on  account  of 
the  effect  on  public  welfare. 

b.  Repairing  or  cleaning    necessary    to    avoid    interruption  of 
manufacturing  during  the  week. 


BSIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  797 

c.  Works  justified  by  imminent  danger,  accidents,  or  to  take 
advantage  of  temporary  conditions. 

No  more  employees  than  are  necessary  shall  be  allowed  to  work 
on  Sunday,  and  they  shall  not  be  employed  for  the  whole  day  or 
two  consecutive  Sundays.  Every  employee  working  a  full  Sunday 
must  have  a  full  day  free  during  the  week.  No  exception  is  made 
allowing  Sunday  work  to  women  or  children  under  eighteen. 

SWITZERLAND. 
I.  Federal  Laws.     Law  of  1872  on  Transportation. 

(Le  travail  du  dimanche.     Office  du  travail,  Belgique,  1896,  v.  5, 

p.  236.) 

Art.  9.  Officers  and  employees  of  railroads  shall  have  a  rest  at 
least  on  one  Sunday  out  of  three.  This  provision  shall  apply  also 
to  other  enterprises  of  transportation  authorized  or  owned  by  the 
federal  government  (steamboats,  postal  service,  etc.). 

Most  of  the  companies  refused  to  obey  this  provision,  demanding 
the  right  to  substitute  a  week  day  instead  of  the  Sunday,  according 
to  the  necessities  of  the  service.  In  1878  the  following  was  added 
to  article  9 : 

"  For  officers  and  employees,  whose  replacing  on  Sunday  causes 
certain  difficulties  or  is  not  practicable  in  the  interest  of  safety  of 
transportation,  railroad  companies  may,  with  the  approval  of  the 
Federal  Council, -decide  that  the  rest  on  Sunday  may  be  replaced 
by  rest  on  a  week  day.  The  same  may  take  place  exceptionally 
for  other  officers  and  employees,  if  they  send  a  request  to  their 
superior  officers." 

By  law  of  June  27,  1890,  the  old  system  was  adopted  again. 

Art.  4.  Officers,  employees  and  workmen  shall  have  52  days  of 
rest  a  year,  well  distributed,  of  which  in  any  case  17  shall  fall  on 
Sundays.  No  part  of  the  wages  shall  be  retained  on  account  of 
the  rest  days  granted  by  the  present  law. 

Art.  5.  Transportation  of  merchandise  is  prohibited  on  Sunday. 
Excepted  from  the  prohibition  are  fast  freight  and  cattle.    The 


798  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

regulations  issued  for  the  enforcement  of  article  4  say  "  provision 
must  be  made  that  the  rest  days  may  be  spent  at  the  place  of  resi- 
dence; they  shall  comprise  24  full  hours  and  shall  not  be 
shortened,  neither  at  the  time  of  ceasing,  nor  at  the  time  of 
beginning  work." 

Subsequent  investigations  showed  that  the  law  was  well  observed, 
the  suppression  «f  Sunday  freight  making  it  easier  of  enforcement. 

CANTON  OF  APPENZELL  ON  RHINE. 
Act  of  April  26,  1908,  E.  B.  Ill,  pp.  124-126. 

Female  hotel  servants  must  be  allowed  a  daily  period  of  rest  of 
at  least  8  hours  between  3  p.  m.  and  8  a.  m.,  and  are  entitled  to  a 
weekly  rest  period  of  at  least  6  hours  between  8  a.  m.  and  8  p.  m. 
In  lieu  of  foregoing,  servants  may  contract  to  receive  five  days' 
leave,  with  full  pay,  twice  each  year. 

No.  22:  In  shops  which  are  open  on  Sundays,  the  women  em- 
ployees shall  have  a  period  of  rest  during  the  week,  equal  to  the 
time  worked  on  Sunday. 

CITY  OF  BASEL. 
Law  concerning  Sunday  rent,  June  20,  1909. 

(Sociale  Rundschau,  herausgegeben  vom  Arbeitsstatistisohen 
Amt  im  Handelministerium,  Vienna,  Austria,  Sept.  1909, 
p.  £49.) 

1.  Good  Friday,  Easter,  the  Pentecost;  the  day  of  prayers 
and  Christmas;  all  Sundays;  the  first  day  of  the  year;  Easter  Mon- 
day; the  feast  of  the  Assumption,  the  Monday  of  the  Pentecost, 
and  the  day  after  Christmas,  when  not  Tuesday,  are  considered 
official  rest  days. 

3.  There  is  prohibited  on  rest  days  noisy  work  or  any  noise 
near  church  during  religious  services,  public  parades,  the  employ- 
ment and  the  paying  off  of  employees  in  industrial,  manufacturing 
and  mercantile  establishments,  all  agricultural  work  not  re- 
quired to  be  performed  daily,  or  not  depending  on  events  of  nature 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  79 9 

or  the  weather;  transportation;    peddling,    stocking    up,    auction 
sales,  and  hunting  and  trading. 

5.     As  far  as  employment  is  allowed  on  rest  days,  the  following 
provisions  are  binding: 

a.  If  regularly  employed  on  rest  days,  employees  are  entitled 
to  one  full  day  of  rest  at  least  every  two  weeks.     Besides  one  full 
day  of  rest   at  least   every  two   weeks, — on  weeks  during  which 
employees  do  not  obtain  a  full  day  of  rest,  the  rest  that  has  been 
lost  through  Sunday  or  holiday  work  must  be  given  to  them  on  a 
week  day,  and  in  case  this  is  not  sufficient,  on  two  weeks  days. 
For  holidays  and  during  the   time  of  the  fair,  the  government 
may  order  the  replacing  of  rest  lost  through  Sunday  and  holiday 
work  by  rest  on  week  days,  also  the  delaying  and  bunching  of 
rest  days. 

b.  Employees  working  regularly  on  rest  days  may  agree  in 
writing  with  employers  that  at  the  most,  half  of  the  free  time 
they  are  entitled  to  during  the  week  shall  be  delayed  and  allowed 
in  an  uninterrupted  vacation,  but  the  remainder  of  the  free  time 
shall  be  divided  as  evenly  as  possible.     The  entire  amount  of  rest- 
ing time  to  which  employees  are  entitled  shall  be  allowed  within 
periods  of  three,  six,  or  twelve  months. 

c.  If  regular  employment  on  legal  rest  days  is  not  exceeding 
two  hours,   and  employees  are  allowed   a  full  day  of  rest  each 
second  week,  employees  may  enter  into  a  written  agreement  with 
employers  to  be  indemnified  in  cash  for  lost  time  of  rest. 

d.  For  extra  work  on  legal  rest  days  'the  employees  are  to 
be  indemnified  either  in  free  time  or  in  cash. 

S7:  Domestic  and  agricultural  servants  are  to  be  allowed 
every  week,  on  a  legal  rest  day  or  on  a  week  day,  at  least  six 
hours  of  free  time  between  7  a.  m.  and  9  p.  m.  and  of  these, 
four  hours  must  be  without  interruption. 


800  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

CANTON  OF  TOWN  OF  BASLE. 

Act  to  amend  the  hotels  and  public  houses;  Act  of  December  19, 
1887,  and  June  8,  1905.     Jan'y  14,  1909.     E.  B.  IV,  p.  52. 

29b.  Every  employee  in  hotels  and  public  houses  must  have 
at  least  8  hours  of  uninterrupted  rest  in  24. 

In  addition,  each  employee  must  have  a  period  of  leisure  each 
week  between  the  hours  of  8  a.  m.  and  10  p.  m.  of  at  least  6 
hours  on  one  day,  or  at  least  4  hours  on  each  of  two  days. 

Each  month  there  is  to  be  holiday  of  at  least  24  consecutive 
hours,  or  not  more  than  6  such  holidays  may  be  combined  from 
time  to  time  in  one  continuous  holiday.  In  the  weeks  when  the 
24  hour  holiday  occurs,  the  weekly  rest  period  of  6  hours  or 
the  two  rest  periods  of  4  hours  each,  as  the  case  may  be,  need  not 
be  allowed. 

E.  B.  I,  p.  564.   General  Service  Regulation  for  Employees  in  Gov- 
ernment Service.     July  28,  1906. 

Section   12:     Workmen  who  have  to   work  several  hours  on 

Sunday  shall  have  equivalent  period  off  on  some  other  day  in 

week.     Each  employee  shall  have  a  Sunday  holiday   26  times 
during  the  year. 

BERNE. 

Act  of  the  Grand  Council  of  Nov.  27,  1907.   Adopted  by  Referen- 
dum on  Feby.  23,  1908.     E.  B.  Ill,  p.  118. 

17.  Female  shop  assistants  may  be  permitted  to  work  on  Sun- 
days, but  they  must  have  a  corresponding  rest  period  during  the 
week,  and  one  free  Sunday  in  every  month. 

CANTON  OF  LUCERNE. 
E.  B.  I,  p.  65.     Apprenticeship  Act,  March  6,  1906. 

Part  III,  Section  12 :  In  establishments  where  Sunday  work 
is  unavoidable  State  Council  may  grant  permission  to  male  appren- 
tices to  work  Sundays.  But  there  must  be  ten  hours  unbroken 
rest  in  twenty-four  and  extra  leisure  must  be  granted  to  make  up 
for  hours  worked  on  Sunday. 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  801 

CANTON  OF  TESSIN. 

E.  B.  I,  p.  210.     Decree  of  July  3,  1906,  prohibiting  night  work 

in  bakeries,  etc. 

Section  6.  Provides  that  hours  of  work  shall  not  exceed  eleven 
in  twenty-four,  and  each  employee  shall  have  one  day  of  rest  a 
week.  At  least  once  a  month  the  rest  day  shall  fall  on  Sunday  or 
a  holiday. 

Act  respecting  work  in   bakehouses  and   pastry-cooks  businesses, 
June  19/fc,  1908.   E.  B.  IV,  p.  54. 

4.  Every  workman  has  a  right  to  a  weekly  holiday,  which  must 
fall  on  a  festival  at  least  once  a  month.  Workmen  may  be  em- 
ployed for  one  hour  on  holidays,  however,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring fresh  dough. 

CANTON  OF  THURGAU. 

Hotels  and  Public  Houses  Act,  March  12,  1906,  adopted  by  refer- 
endum, May  20,  1906.     E.  B.  I,  p.  568. 

"  All  employees  shall  have  the  right  *  *  *  to  one  half- 
holiday  in  the  week,  which  must  fall  on  Sunday  morning  or 
afternoon  at  least  once  in  the  month." 

CANTON  OF  ZURICH. 
Act  of  May  27,  1907.     E.  B.  I.,  p.  296. 

Declares  Sundays  and  seven  festivals  to  be  public  holidays.  Pro- 
hibits employment  on  holidays  in  industrial  or  commercial  estab- 
lishments, in  any  trade  or  handicraft,  noisy  occupations,  or  the 
making  up  of  accounts.  Exceptions  allowed  in  the  case  of  agri- 
culture, continuous  processes,  industries  serving  daily  needs,  stock- 
taking and  emergency  work.  Sunday  work  restricted  to  certain 
hours  in  hairdressing  and  photography.  Regulation  of  Sunday 
work  of  porters,  cabdrivers,  pleasure-boat  owners  and  in  bathing 
establishments  left  to  local  authorities.  Employees  in  certain  in- 
dustries who  work  a  part  of  Sundays  must  have  every  third  Sun- 
day free,  and  for  each  Sunday  worked,  must  have  a  free  afternoon 
during  same  week. 
26 


802  BKIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

There  has  been,  so  far,  little  discussion  of  the  new  rest-day  laws. 
The  French  law  has  received  some  attention,  iind  \  seems  to  oe 
defective  chiefly  in  its  tendency  to  leave  to  tb-j  executive  the  spe- 
cific classification  of  certain  trades  and  i:.  its  failure  to  provide 
adequate  machinery  for  its  enforcement.  This  latter  gave  rise  to 
friction,  for  a  time,  because  some  retail  stores  did  not  obey  the  law 
and  thus  had  an  advantage  over  those  who  closed  on  Sunday. 
Another  serious  objection  arose  over  the  reduction  in  earnings  of 
the  workmen  formerly  employed  seven  days  in  the  week,  and 
numerous  strikes  occurred  during  the  autumn  of  1906.  Two 
years  later  this  matter  had  been  adjusted  so  that  in  industries 
where  continuous  work  had  to  be  done,  in  a  majority  of  cases  the 
labor  force  had  been  increased  a  seventh  and  thus  output  was  kept 
up  to  the  former  level  and  daily  wages  had  gone  up  in  the  same 
degree. 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  803 

4.     COMMUNICATIONS. 
HEALTH  DEPARTMENT,  NEW  YORK  STATE. 

MR.  ABRAM  I.  ELKUS, 

Chief    Counsel,    Factory   Investigating    Commission, 
170  Broadway,  New  York  City: 

DEAR  SIR  : 

Your  communication  of  recent  date,  asking  for  a  statement  in 
reference  to  the  investigation  being  carried  on  by  your  Commis- 
sion, was  forwarded  to  me  during  my  absence  from  Albany  and  I 
regret  to  say  that  for  this  reason  there  was  delay  in  its  delivery. 

I  have  been,  and  am,  much  interested  in  the  work  which  your 
Commission  has  undertaken,  and  am  glad  to  note  that  there  is  a 
movement  on  foot  to  extend  the  time  within  which  your  Commis- 
sion may  report,  to  enable  you  to  go  more  thoroughly  into  some 
of  the  questions  at  issue. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  answer  the  questions  which  you  have  put  to 
me  and  can  assure  you  that  I  will  be  glad  to  co-operate  with  the 
Commission  in  any  way  in  its  work,  or  to  furnish  you  any  infor- 
mation in  my  power. 

As  to  the  jurisdiction  of  this  Department  over  manufacturing 
establishments,  I  beg  to  say  that  contrary  to  general  public  opinion, 
the  direct  powers  of  this  Department  are  exceedingly  limited.  Most 
of  the  authority  in  regard  to  public  health  matters  lies  with  the 
local  Boards  of  Health,  and  as  I  have  pointed  out  for  some  years, 
I  believe  New  York  State  is  far  behind  in  failing  to  put  sufficient 
authority  in  the  hands  of  the  State  Department  of  Health  to  in- 
augurate many  radical  reforms  which  are  needed  and  which  it  is 
apparent  can  never  be  carried  out  by  local  Boards  of  Health. 

We  have  no  direct  authority  over  the  conditions  in  manufactur- 
ing establishments,  nor  have  we  attempted  to  make  inspections  of 
the  same.  We  have  very  little  money  to  expend  in  inspection  work, 
and  it  is  necessary  that  the  men  so  employed  should  be  kept  busy 
on  work  in  the  protection  of  public  water  supplies  and  matters  of 
this  kind  where  the  Department  is  charged  with  responsibility. 

The  questions  as  to  the  improvements  necessary  to  reduce  the 
heavy  mortality  from  tuberculosis  and  other  diseases  among  factory 


804:  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

workers  and  the  causes  of  this  disease  go  to  the  root  of  our  social 
conditions.  It  is  obvious  that  the  employer  of  labor  should  be  re- 
quired to  keep  his  premises  in  a  sanitary  condition,  to  make  the 
premises  as  safe  as  possible  for  his  employees,  that  persons  afflicted 
with  contagious  diseases  should  not  be  allowed  to  spread  the  same 
by  contact  with  others,  and  that  the  health  and  efficiency  of  the 
workers  should  be  maintained  at  as  high  a  standard  as  possible, 
and  that  it  is  to  the  advantage  of  the  employer  to  see  that  this  is 
done. 

While  our  figures  in  regard  to  the  cases  of  tuberculosis  are  not 
complete,  the  disease  never  having  been  required  to  be  reported  in 
this  State  until  I  placed  it  upon  the  list  of  diseases  to  be  reported, 
in  1907,  we  know  that  there  is  a  heavy  mortality  among  factory 
workers  and  in  certain  cities  of  the  State  where  there  are  large 
manufacturing  establishments.  The  living  conditions  must  be  im- 
proved, as  well  as  the  conditions  under  which  these  people  work, 
if  we  are  to  successfully  combat  the  disease.  Insanitary  tenements 
must  be  abolished  and  the  worker  must  receive  a  wage  sufficient 
to  enable  him  to  obtain  proper  food.  He  must  be  educated  as  to 
the  steps  necessary  to  prevent  tuberculosis,  the  dangers  of  alcohol- 
ism, and  the  necessity  of  rest,  fresh  air  and  good  food  in  maintain- 
ing his  strength  and  efficiency. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  subjects  involved  require  co- 
operation and  consideration  on  the  part  of  the  State,  the  munici- 
pality, the  employer  and  civic  associations.  The  efforts  of  this 
Department  in  regard  to  tuberculosis  during  the  past  few  years 
have  been  directed  along  the  lines  of  a  widespread  educational 
campaign  to  teach  the  people  what  the  disease  is,  how  it  should 
be  prevented,  and  its  cure.  Our  experience  leads  us  to  believe 
that  what  people  are  in  need  of  is  an  opportunity  to  learn  about 
matters  of  this  kind,  and  that  if  the  State  will  furnish  this  infor- 
mation they  will  grasp  it  eagerly. 

In  regard  to  mortality  and  morbidity  statistics,  I  would  say  that 
our  mortality  statistics  have  been  very  much  improved  in  the  last 
few  years  as  we  have  secured  a  number  of  amendments  to  our  law, 
and  we  have  a  complete  registration  of  all  deaths.  Morbidity  statis- 
tics are  not  as  complete,  owing  to  the  difficulty  in  getting  local 
Boards  of  Health  to  get  physicians  to  report  all  cases.  We  are 
endeavoring  to  interest  the  physicians  throughout  the  State  in  this 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  805 

work,  and  to  require  local  Boards  of  Health  to  compel  the  report- 
ing of  all  cases.  I  believe  this  question  is  largely  an  educational 
one  and  more  direct  results  can  be  secured  by  getting  the  co- 
operation of  the  physicians  than  by  attempting  to  force  them 
into  line. 

As  to  the  functions  of  the  State  Health  Department  and  the 
State  Department  of  Labor,  concerning  the  sanitary  conditions  in 
factories,  it  would  seem  that  as  the  State  Labor  Department  is 
vested  with  general  authority  over  these  plants,  the  authority 
governing  sanitary  conditions  should  also  be  given  to  them  and 
that  they  should  have  proper  funds  to  require  its  enforcement. 

As  to  the  co-operation  between  the  State  Department  of  Health 
and  local  Boards  of  Health,  I  beg  to  say  that  it  our  endeavor  to 
co-operate  with  local  Boards  of  Health  in  all  matters,  and  to  en- 
deavor to  assist  them  and  advise  them  in  their  undertakings.  We 
have  very  little  control  over  their  acts  and  have  great  difficulty  in 
compelling  them  to  carry  out  some  of  the  provisions  of  the  Public 
Health  Law. 

Tt  is  our  purpose  to  introduce  at  this  session  of  the  Legislature 
a  bill  making  some  general  amendments  to  the  Public  Health  Law 
in  which  we  propose  to  strengthen  the  authority  of  the  State  De- 
partment of  Health  over  the  local  Boards  and  secure  a  more  effec- 
tive co-operation. 

As  to  the  necessity  for  a  State  Sanitary  Code,  I  do  not  believo 
it  is  feasible  to  attempt  to  do  this.  All  of  our  local  Boards  of 
Health  have  rules  and  regulations.  They  must  be  drafted  to  suit 
many  varying  conditions,  and  in  the  majority  of  the  jurisdictions 
the  regulations  are  sufficient  to  protect  the  public  health  if  they 
are  properly  enforced. 

I  beg  to  assure  you  of  my  deep  interest  in  the  work  of  your 
Commission  and  my  desire  to  be  of  every  possible  service,  and  if 
there  is  any  further  information  I  can  give  you  I  will  be  very 
glad  to  furnish  it. 

Thanking  you  for  the  opportunity  of  addressing  you,  I  am, 

Very  Respectfully, 

EUGEXE  H.  PORTER, 

Commissioner  of  Health. 


806  BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

BAKE1UES. 
OFFICE  OF  THE  COMMISSIONER  OF  HEALTH. 

January  4,  1912. 

MR.  ABRAM  I.  ELKUS,  Chief  Counsel,  Factory  Investigating  Com- 
mission, No.  165  Broadway,  New  York. 

SIRS: 

In  reply  to  your  letter  of  December  26,  1911,  I  beg  to  advise 
you  as  follows  in  answer  to  your  several  questions: 

During  the  year  ending  October  1,  1911,  3,042  inspections  of 
bakeries  were  made;  744  reports  were  referred  to  the  State  De- 
partment of  Labor,  in  571  instances  unclean  conditions  were  re- 
moved by  the  personal  effort  of  the  inspectors  or  patrolmen  of  the 
Sanitary  Squad,  and  60  notices  were  issued  by  the  Department. 

During  the  period  from  October  1,  1911,  to  December  15, 
1911,  3,824  investigations  of  bakeries  were  made;  unclean  con- 
ditions were  removed  by  the  personal  effort  of  inspectors  or  patrol- 
men of  the  Sanitary  Squad  in  666  instances;  123  notices  were 
issued  by  the  Department;  192  "public  nuisance"  orders  and  95 
"  vacation "  orders  were  issued  by  the  Board  of  Health  against 
bakeries. 

The  Department  of  Health  has  no  authority  to  "  seal "  bakeries. 

Very  truly  yours, 

ERNST  J.  LEDERLE, 

Commissioner. 


]]RIJ:KS  AND  MEMORANDA.  807 

EMPLOYMENT  OF  PJ4EGV  '  VT  WOMEN. 

J ahuu.  it  2CM,  1912. 
ME.  ABEAM  I.  ELKUS, 

170  Broadway,  N.  Y. 
DEAE  SIE: 

I  presented  your  letter  of  the  18th  at  the  meeting  of  the  Brook- 
lyn Pediatric  Society  in  connection  with  the  discussion  of  a  paper 
on  "  The  Cause  and  Prevention  of  Premature  Birth."  There  was 
a  very  general  and  interesting  discussion  of  your  plans,  and  at  my 
motion  the  following  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted.  Make 
use  of  them  in  any  way  that  seems  wise. 

"  Whereas,  The  statistics  collected  by  many  investigators,  both 
in  this  country  and  abroad,  conclusively  prove  that  factory  labor  is 
responsible  for  a  large  percentage  of  prematurity  and  infant  mor- 
tality; Be  it  resolved,  That  the  Brooklyn  Pediatric  Society  heartily 
endorses  the  efforts  of  the  Factory  Investigating  Commission  to 
regulate,  by  law,  the  employment  of  women  immediately  before 
and  after  childbirth." 

Practically  all  who  discussed  the  question  agreed  with  you  that 
it  would  be  difficult  or  impossible  to  do  much  in  the  way  of  pre- 
vention before  childbirth.  They  also  wanted  me  to  express  to  you 
their  opinion  that  we  should  shorten,  by  law,  the  working-day  for 
women. 

Another  point  was  that  the  State  must  supply  some  way  of 
taking  care  of  such  women  if  they"  are  not  allowed  to  work. 

Yours  truly, 

LOUIS  C.  AGER. 


808  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

HEALTH  INSPECTION  IN  FACTORIES. 
HEALTH  DEPARTMENT,  MASSACHUSETTS. 

BOSTON,  Sept.  25,  1911. 

DR.  GEORGE  M.  PRICE, 

Director  of  Investigations, 

Factory  Investigating  Commission, 

165  Broadway,  New  York,  N.  Y. 

MY  DEAR  DR.  PRICE: 

I  have  your  letter  of  September  23  requesting  copies  of  inspec- 
tion cards  and  schedules  used  by  our  inspectors.  While  I  am  send- 
ing them  under  separate  cover,  I  wish  I  might  see  you  to  explain 
how  they  are  used,  as  otherwise  I  feel  that  you  will  get  but  slight 
help  from  them.  I  am  also  inclosing  a  copy  of  the  1906  report 
of  this  board  relating  to  the  sanitation  of  factories. 

Since  you  ask  for  suggestions,  in  addition  to  'the  printed  matter, 
the  suggestion  which  I  would  offer  is  one  which  is  the  outcome  of 
seven  years'  experience  in  the  work  in  Massachusetts.  In  this 
State,  a  distinction  is  made  between  "  factory  inspection "  and 
"health  inspection  in  factories."  Factory  inspection,  except  for  a 
study  of  the  health  conditions  in  factories  and  the  health  of  the 
persons  employed  therein,  is  in  the  hands  of  the  district  police, 
while  the  health  inspection  work  is  under  the  supervision 
of  the  State  Board  of  Health.  In  considering  the  protection  of 
the  public  health,  we  recognize  that  the  factory  is  not  an  isolated 
part  of  the  community,  that  in  manufacturing  centers  factory 
employees  mingle  freely  v:ith  persons  in  other  walks  of  life,  and 
that  the  health  of  persons  who  work  in  factories,  therefore,  may 
aifect  materially  the  healtn  of  the  public.  We  recognize,  too,  that 
in  making  a  study  -of  the  sanitation  of  factories  and  the  probable 
effects  of  conditions,  processes,  and  methods  upon  health,  we  must 
have  a  knowledge  of  the  sanitation  of  each  industrial  community 
including  the  factory,  the  school  and  the  home.  For  these  reasons, 
the  health  inspection  of  the  commonwealth  includes  the  health 
inspection  of  industrial  establishments  and  some  knowledge  of 
each  industrial  process  and  a  study  of  the  probable  effects  of  oc- 
cupation upon  the  health  of  the  workers  at  their  work,  as  well  as 


BEIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  809 

the  investigation  of  the  prevalence  of  communicable  and  occupa- 
tional diseases. 

So  far  as  I  know,  Massachusetts  stands  alone  in  providing  for 
such  a  thorough  study  of  factory  and  industrial  conditions,  their 
probable  effects  upon  the  health  of  the  workers  and  investigation 
of  the  prevalence  of  communicable  and  occupational  diseases.  In 
this  latter  work,  our  inspectors  are  empowered  to  make  physical 
examinations  of  minors  under  eighteen  years  of  age,  not  only  for 
the  purpose  of  excluding  minors  with  dangerous  diseases  like 
tuberculosis,  but  for  the  purpose  of  excluding  them  from  any 
occupation  or  process,  condition  or  method  which  may  injuriously 
affect  their  health. 

A  few  words  as  to  the  history  of  the  present  system:  the  ques- 
tion of  providing  a  body  of  health  inspectors  who  should  stand 
bet'veen  the  authorities  at  the  State  House  and  the  municipalities 
first  arose  some  twenty  years  ago.  In  1904-5  and  6  a  rather  ex- 
tensive investigation  of  health  conditions  of  industrial  life  by  the 
State  Board  of  Health  marked  the  first  definite  step  in  the  devel- 
opment in  America  of  industrial  hygiene.  Dr.  Charles  Harring- 
ton, then  Secretary  of  this  Board,  realizing  the  importance  of 
preventive  medicine,  and  therefore  of  encouraging  specialization 
in  sanitary  work,  went  so  far  as  to  announce  to  one  of  his  classes 
in  hygiene  in  the  Harvard  Medical  School  that  only  graduates  of 
medicine  would  be  eligible  for  the  work.  The  result  of  the  in- 
vestigation warranted  certain  definite  recommendations  to  the  Leg- 
islature providing  for  a  more  efficient  provision  for  the  health  of 
the  operatives  than  at  that  time  existed.  This  investigation,  there- 
fore, covering  a  period  of  three  years,  was  one  of  the  several  in- 
fluences that  in  1907  affected  the  legislative  mind.  Another  was 
a  very  strong  organization  of  persons  who  were  interested  in  the 
measures  for  the  prevention  of  the  spread  of  tuberculosis.  In  this 
year  of  1907,  therefore,  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  passed 
an  act  which  provided  for  the  establishment  of  health  districts 
land  the  appointment  of  State  Inspectors  of  Health.  There  are 
fourteen  State  Inspectors  of  Health,  each  in  charge  of  a 
health  district,  who  are  physicians  legally  recognized  as  sani- 
tarians who  work  under  the  supervision  of  the  State  Board  of 
Health,  acting  as  an  intermediary  between  the  State  Board  and 


S10  BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA. 

ibe  l<.cal  boards.  While  the  health  district  division  is  still  experi- 
p.ental,  the  matter  of  determining  the  division  lines  and  the  power 
of  changing  them  from  time  to  time  is  left  entirely  to  the  State 
Board  of  Health.  The  State  Inspectors  of  Health  are  appointed 
by  the  State  Board  of  Health  with  the  consent  of  the  Governor 
and  Council.  While  the  term  of  office  of  a  State  Inspector  of 
Health  is  designated  as  five  years,  he  may  be  removed  at  any  time 
by  the  State  Board  of  Health.  The  important  thing,  in  general 
terms,  about  the  legislation,  so  far  as  it  a  fit-Ms  local  health  au- 
thorities, Li  that  it  is  advisory.  Ir  U  the  business  of  a  State  In- 
spector of  Health  to  assist  the  local  health  authorities  within  his 
district  and  when  necessary,  advise  them  relative  to  the  prevention 
of  the  s]  .'<^ci  of  diseases  dangerous  to  the  public  health,  and  all 
influences  iangerous  to  ih<?  public  health  or  threatening  to  affect 
the  same.  A.  portion  of  'be  work  relating  to  the  health  inspection 
of  faetorifi.  ip  of  an  executive  nature,  although  as  I  have  said, 
in  other  words,  the  purpose  of  inspecting  the  sanitary  conditions 
in  industrial  establishment-  is  to  safeguard  the  health,  first,  of  the 
workers,  and,  second,  of  fhe  community  fit  large.  A  proper  study 
cf  occupational  hygiene  in  each  establishment,  of  course,  involves 
a  knowledge  cf  the  am-'.tary  conditions,  including  the  adequacy 
of  lighting,  the  ventilation,  and  cleanliness  of  the  establishment, 
as  well  as  some  knowledge  of  the  various  industrial  processes  in 
which  the  operatives  are  engaged.  Such  work,  as  conducted  in 
thi?  State,  leads  in  every  instance  to  practical  results.  If  any 
unsanitary  conditions  are  found,  if  any  processes  are  conducted 
wherein  employees  are  exposed  to  injurious  influences,  orders  are 
issued;  or,  in  case  no  specific  statute  covers  the  case,  recommenda- 
tions are  made  to  provide  for  the  necessary  changes.  Thus,  the 
data  relative  to  occupational  diseases  are  of  the  utmost  practical, 
immediate  value,  for  in  this  way  we  find  out  what  processes  are 
dangerous  and  hence  what  processes  must  be  protected. 

I  have  gone  into  the  matter  in  considerable  detail,  so  as  to 
point  o;it  what,  so  far  as  I  know,  all  states  except  Massachusetts, 
fail  to  recognize,  although  a  few  are  beginning  to  recognize  it, 
that  health  inspection  of  industrial  establishments  and  of  persons 
employed  therein  is  interrelated  with  community  health  inspection, 
and  that  any  attempt  to  divide  the  two  kinds  of  work,  as  for 


BRIEFS  AND  HEJIORA^BA.  811 

ple,  by  establishing  two  separate  bureaus,  interferes  with 
and  consequently  weaken-  the  health  work  of  the  State.  While  I 
appreciate  the  fact  that,  iJie  enforcement  of  many  labor  laws  re- 
in ring  to  factory  work  is  by  no  means  a  part  of  the  function  of  a 
health  board,  the  results  of  health  inspection  in  the  factories  of 
Massachusetts  during  the  last  seven  years  have  gone  beyond  the 
experimental  stage  in  showing  the  public  that  such  work  to  be 
efficient  and  to  best  guard  the  public  health  must  be  under  the 
supervision  of  the  central  health  authority  of  the  State. 

Yours  very  truly, 

WM.  C.  HANSON. 


812  BRIEFS  AHD  MEMORANDA. 

FIFTH  AVENUE  ASSOCIATION. 

NEW  YORK,  December  15th,  1911. 

MR.  ABHAM  I.  ELKUS,  Chief  Counsel,  Factory  Investigating  Com- 
mission, 165  Broadway,  New  York. 

DEAR  SIR  : — 

"  The  members  of  The  Fifth  Avenue  Association  are  in  full 
sympathy  with  the  purpose  of  this  Commission  to  ascertain  and 
establish  the  conditions  attending  manufacture  in  the  cities  of  the 
first  class  and  second  class  of  the  State,  in  order  that  the  life  and 
health  of  all  those  in  all  factory  employment  may  be  safeguarded, 
and  that  indeed  the  best  and  most  complete  measures  of  safety  for 
these  reasons  shall  be  adopted  and  enforced.  We  believe  through 
the  facts  which  this  Commission  will  bring  out,  that  a  most  bene- 
ficial result  will  follow  in  improved  and  practical  laws  that  will 
ensure  the  protection  hitherto  failing. 

But  there  is  another  matter,  vitally  and  intimately  associated 
with  conditions  of  manufacture  in  the  city  of  New  York. 

I  refer  to  the  fact  that  factories  now  exist  in  large  numbers 
in  the  cross  streets  directly  adjacent  to  Fifth  Avenue,  and  are 
growing  in  number  so  rapidly  that  many  of  the  members  of  Fifth 
Avenue  Association  and  other  well-informed  people  to  whom  I  have 
spoken,  are  gravely  concerned  regarding  the  maintenance  of  Fifth 
Avenue  as  a  hotel,  residential  ajid  avenue  for  shopping,  in  view 
of  this  invasion  of  factory  employments  into  what  may  be  desig- 
nated the  Fifth  Avenue  district.  Fifth  Avenue  property  values  are 
founded  for  the  chief  pan  on  the  usage  of  property  there  situated 
for  its  present  purpose,  and  its  future  value  and  the  income  are 
estimated  upon  the  proposition  that  Fifth  Avenue  will  retain  un- 
impaired its  prestige  and  the  value  and  advantage  it  possesses  to- 
day. I  am  not  here  to  argue  to  this  Commission  that  factories  and 
lofts  coming  into  this  district  may  not  be  a  sign  of  prosperity. 
It  may  well  be  that  the  choice  of  such  location  is  determined  by 
such  natural  uptown  movement,  and  by  the  general  increase  in 
light  manufacturing  employment  in  this  borough,  and  by  many 
other  complex  conditions  that  make  it  useless  to  exclaim  against 


BRIEFS  AND  MEMORANDA.  813 

what  is  deemed  a  menace.  I  wish  simply  to  state  the  fact  that 
jour  Commission  take  these  into  account  and  make  such  further 
inquiry  into  the  same  recommendations  as  may  be  considered 
proper. 

I  wish  to  say  that  I  am  told  that  no  manufacturing  district  and 
shopping  district  can  exist  in  the  identical  same  territory.  Manu- 
facturing always  bringing  the  best  property  to  its  lowest  value. 

It  is  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  that  the  receiving  and 
shipping  of  goods  for  many  of  the  loft  buildings  in  which  factory 
employments  are  carried  on,  notably  in  the  streets  in  the  twenties, 
between  Fifth  and  Sixth  Avenues  and  Broadway,  which  process  is 
also  growing  in  streets  higher  up,  congest  these  cross  streets  to  an 
extent  that  it  imperils  the  regularity  of  foot  and  wagon  traffic. 

Any  obstruction  to  the  free  movement  of  traffic  leading  to  and 
from  Fifth  Avenue  is  of  necessity  harmful.  In  the  absence  of 
planning  associations  or  of  any  law  or  laws  which  define  or  limit 
the  right  of  manufacturing  establishments,  they  can  enter  upon 
and  occupy  property  anywhere  to  the  ultimate  destruction  of  an 
entire  neighborhood. 

We  seriously  recommend,  in  connection  with  your  investigation, 
an  inquiry  whether  it  would  be  lawful  and  whether  it  would  be 
for  the  general  good  to  have  factory  employments  kept  within  cer- 
tain geographical  limits  within  this,  and  iperhaps,  other  Boroughs 
of  the  city.  In  view  of  the  improved  legislation  demanded  and 
which  will  undoubtedly  flow  from  this  investigation,  I  think  that 
the  choice  of  future  location  of  factories  on  grounds  and  premises 
far  less  expensive  than  those  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  district  would 
lend'  itself  to  the  requirements  of  more  space  for  employees,  more 
light,  more  ventilation  and  less  height  to  buildings  than  is  possible 
when  the  location  is  within  the  district." 

Yours  very  truly, 

ROBERT  G.  COOKE, 

President. 


BILLS     SUBMITTED     TO     THE     LEGISLATURE 

L*  Fireproof  Receptacles;  Gas  Jets;  Smoking. 

II.*  Fire  Drills. 
111.*  Automatic  Sprinklers. 
IV.     Fire-escapes  and  Exits. 

V.     Limitation  of  Number  of  Occupants. 

VI.     Fireproof  Construction  of  Factory  Buildings  Hereafter 
Erected. 

VII.*  Unclean  Factories;  Summary  Power  of  Commissioner  of 
Labor. 

VIIL*  Registration  of  Factories. 

IX.*  Washing  Facilities ;  Prohibition  of  Eating  Meals  in  Fac- 
tories Using  Poisonous  Substances. 

X.     Ventilation  where  Dust,  Gases  and  Fumes  are  Generated. 
XL     Bakeries,  Licensing;  New  Cellar  Bakeries  Prohibited. 
XII.     Seats  for  Women  Employees. 
XIII. *  Employment  of  Women  after  Childbirth. 
XIV.*  Employment  of  Children;  Physician's  Certificate. 
XV.     Brass,  Steel,  and  Iron  Foundries. 


*Bills  passed  by  the  Legislature  and  signed  by  the  Governor. 
The  others  will  be  revised  and  redrafted   and   submitted  to  the  Legisla- 
ture  in  January,   1913. 


BILLS     SUBMITTED     TO     THE     LEGISLATURE, 

EMBODYING  THE  RECOMMENDATIONS 

OF  THE  COMMISSION 

Matter  in  italics  is  new;  matter  in  brackets  £  ]  is  old  law  to 
be  omitted. 

I.     FIRE  PROOF  RECEPTACLES;  GAS  JETS; 
SMOKING. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to  labor,  consti- 
tuting chapter  thirty-one  of  tihe  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  inserting  therein  a  new  section,  to  be  section  eighty- 
three-c,  to  read  as  follows: 

§  83-c.  Fire  proof  receptacles;  gas  jets;  smoking.  1.  Every 
factory  shall  be  provided  with  properly  covered  fire  proof  recep- 
tacles, the  number,  style  and  location  of  which  shall  be  approved 
in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner,  and  elsewhere, 
by  the  commissioner  of  labor.  There  shall  be  deposited  in  such 
receptacles  all  inflammable  waste  materials,  cuttings  and  rubbish. 
No  waste  materials,  cuttings  and  rubbish  shall  be  permitted  to  ac- 
cumulate on  the  floors  of  any  factory  but  shall  be  removed  there- 
from not  less  than  twice  each  day.  All  such  waste  materials, 
cuttings  and  rubbish  shall  be  entirely  removed  from  a  factory 
building  at  least  once  in  each  day. 

2.  All  gas  jets  or  lights  in  factories  shall  be  properly  enclosed 
by  globes,  wire  cages  or  otherwise  properly  protected  in  a  manner 
approved  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner  of  such 
city,  and  elsewhere,  by  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

3.  Smoking  in  a  factory  is  prohibited.    A  notice  of  such  pro- 
hibition stating  the  penalty  for  violation  thereof  shall  be  posted  on 
every  floor  of  such  factory  in  English  and  also  in  such  other  lan- 
guage or  languages  as  the  fire  commissioner  of  the  city  of  New 


818  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUEE. 

York  in  suvh  city,  and  elsewhere,  the  state  fire  marshal,  shall  di- 
rect. The  fire  commissioner  of  the  city  of  New  York  in  such  city, 
and  elsewhere,  the  state  fire  marshal  shall  enforce  the  provisions  of 
this  subdivision. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

II.     FIRE   DRILLS. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor,  consti- 
tuting chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  inserting  therein  a  new  section,  to  'be  section  eighty- 
fchree-a,  to  read  as  follows : 

§  83-a.  Fire  drills.  In  every  factory  in  which-  more  than 
twenty-fire  persons  are  regularly  employed  above  the  ground  or 
first  floor  a  fire  drill  of  the  occupants  of  such  building  shall  be  con- 
ducted at  least  once  in  every  three  months  under  the  supervision 
of  the  local  fire  department  or  one  of  its  officers.  Appropriate 
rules  and  regulations  to  make  effective  this  provision  shall  be 
prepared  for  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner  of 
such  city,  and  for  other  parts  of  the  state,  by  the  state  fire  marshal. 
Suth  rules  and  regulations  shall  be  posted  on  each  floor  of  every 
factory  to  which  they  apply.  In  the  city  of  New  York  the  fire 
commissioner  of  such  ciiy,  and  elsewhere,  the  state  fire  marshal 
is  charged  with  the  duty  of  enforcing  this  section. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

III.     AUTOMATIC  SPRINKLERS. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is 
hereby  amended  by  inserting  therein  a  new  section,  to  be  section 
eighty-three-b,  to  read  as  follows: 

§  83-b.  Automatic  sprinklers.  In  every  factory  building  over 
seven  stories  or  over  ninety  feet  in  height  in  which,  wooden 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE.  819 

-flooring  or  wooden  trim  is  used  and  more  than  two  hundred 
people  are  regularly  employed  above  the  seventh  floor  or  more 
than  ninety  feet  above  the  ground  level  of  such  building,  the 
owner  of  the  building  shall  install  an  automatic  sprinkler  system 
approved  as  to  form  and  manner  in  the  city  of  New  York  by 
the  fire  commissioner  of  said  city,  and  elsewhere,  by  the  state 
fire  marshal.  Such  installation  shall  be  made  within  one  year 
after  this  section  takes  effect,  but  the  fire  commissioner  of  the 
city  of  New  York  in  such  city  and  the  state  fire  marshal 
elsewhere  may,  for  good  cause  shown,  extend  such  time  for  an 
additional  year.  A  failure  to  comply  with  this  section  shall  be 
a  misdemeanor  as  provided  by  section  twelve  hundred  and 
seventy-five  of  the  penal  laiv  and  the  provisions  hereof  shall  also 
be  enforced  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner  of 
such  city  in  the  manner  provided  by  title  three  of  chapter  fifteen 
of  the  Greater  New  York  charter,  and  elsewhere  by  the  state 
fire  marshal  in  the  manner  provided  by  article  ten-a  of  the  in- 
surance law. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

IV.     FIRE-ESCAPES  AND  EXITS. 

Section  1.  Section  eighty  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws 
of  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  ei.iitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  as 
amended  by  chapter  four  hundred  and  sixty-one  of  the  laws  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows: 

§  80.  Stairs  and  Doors.  Proper  and  substantial  handrails 
shall  be  provided  on  all  stairways  in  factories.  The  steps  of  such 
stairs  shall  be  covered  with  rubber,  securely  fastened  thereon,  if 
in  the  opinion  of  the  commissioner  of  labor  the  safety  of  em- 
ployees would  be  promoted  thereby.  The  stairs  shall  be  properly 
screened  at  the  sides  and  bottom.  All  doors  leading  in  or  to  any 
[such]  factory  in  which  less  than  twenty  persons  are  employed 
on  a  floor  shall  be  so  constructed  as  to  open  outwardly  where  prac- 
ticable [,  and  shall  not].  Where  more  than  twenty  persons  are 
employed  on  any  one  floor  of  a  factory  all  doors  on  such  floor  or 
floors  leading  to  exits  must  open  outwardly  or  be  so  constructed 


820  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

as  to  slide  freely.  Xo  doors  shall  be  locked,  bolted  or  fastened 
during  working  hours.  Xo  door,  window  or  other  opening  on  any 
floor  of  any  such  factory  shall  be  obstructed  by  stationary  metal 
bars,  grating  or  wire  mesh.  Any  metal  bars,  grating,  or  wire 
mesh  provided  for  any  such  doors,  windows  or  openings,  shall  be 
so  constructed  as  to  be  readily  movable  or  removable  from  the 
interior  in  such  a  manner  as  to  afford  the  free  and  unobstructed 
use  of  such  doors,  windows  or  opening  for  purposes  of  egress, 
in  case  of  need. 

§  2.  Section  eighty-two  of  such  chapter  is  hereby  amended  to 
read  as  follows: 

§  82.  Fire  Escapes  and  Exits.  [Such  fire  escapes  as  may  be 
deemed  necessary  by  the  commissioner  of  labor  shall  be  provided 
on  the  outside  of  every  factory  in  this  state  consisting  of  three  or 
more  stories  in  height.  Each  escape  shall  connect  with  each  floor 
above  the  first,  and  shall  be  of  sufficient  strength,  well  fastened 
and  secured,  and  shall  have  landings  or  balconies  not  less  than 
six  feet  in  length  and  three  feet  in  width,  guarded  by  iron  rail- 
ings not  less  than  three  feet  in  height,  embracing  at  least  two 
windows  at  each  story  and  connected  with  the  interior  by  easily 
accessible  and  unobstructed  openings.  The  balconies  or  landings 
shall  be  connected  by  iron  stairs,  not  less  than  eighteen  inches 
wide,  with  steps  of  not  less  than  six  inches  tread,  placed  at  a 
proper  slant  and  protected  by  a  well-secured  hand-rail  on  both 
sides,  and  shall  have  a  drop  ladder  not  less  than  twelve  inches 
wide  reaching  from  the  lower  platform  to  the  ground. 

The  windows  or  doors  to  the  landing  or  balcony  of  each  fire 
escape  shall  be  of  sufficient  size  and  located  as  far  as  possible, 
consistent  with  accessibility  from  the  stairways  and  elevator  hatch- 
ways or  openings,  and  a  ladder  from  such  fire  escapes  shall  extend 
to  the  roof.  Stationary  stairs  or  ladders  shall  be  provided  on  the 
inside  of  every  factory  from  the  upper  story  to  the  roof,  as  a 
means  of  escape  in  case  of  fire.] 

/.  Such  fire  escapes  as  may  be  deemed  necessary  by  the  fire 
commissioner  of  the  city  of  New  York  and  the  commissioner  of 
labor  elsewhere  in  the  state  shall  be  provided  on  the  outside  of 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUEE.  821 

every  factory.  Each  escape  shall  connect  with  each  floor  above 
the  first  and  shall  be  of  sufficient  strength,  well  fastened  and 
secured,  and  shall  have  landings  or  balconies  not  less  than  six 
feet  in  length  and  six  feet*  in  width,  guarded  by  iron  railings  not 
less  than  three  feet  in  height,  embracing  two  windows  at  each 
story  and  connected  with  the  interior  by  easily  accessible  and 
unobstructed  openings.  The  balconies  or  landings  shall  be  con- 
nected by  iron  stairs  not  less  than  eighteen  inches  wide,  with  steps 
of  not  less  than  six  inches  tread,  placed  at  a  proper  angle  to  be 
determined  by  the  fire  commissioner  or  commissioner  of  labor  as 
the  case  may  be,  and  protected  by  a  well-secured  hand-rail  on 
both  sides,  and  shall  have  a  goose-neck  ladder  or  stairs  leading 
from  the  top  floor  balcony  to  and  above  the  roof  and  properly 
fastened  thereto,  and  a  balanced  drop  ladder  from  the  lowest' 
balcony  not  less  than  twelve  inches  wide  of  sufficient  length  to 
reach  to  a  safe  landing  place  beneath.  Except  in  the  case  of  party 
wall  fire  escapes,  and  fire  escapes  erected  on  the  front  of  a  factory, 
safe  and  unobstructed  exits  shall  be  provided  from  such  landing 
place  either  by  means  of  an  opening  in  the  fence  leading  to  ad- 
joining premises  or  to  fire  proof  passage  ways  leading  to  the  street. 
All  fi.re  escapes  and  balconies  thereof  shall  be  constructed  in  ac- 
cordance with  such  regulations  as  may  be  adopted  in  the  city  of 
New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner  and  elsewhere  in  the  state 
by  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

2.  All  windows  and  doors  leading  to  outside  fire  escapes  in 
existing  factories  and  those  hereafter  erected  shall  be  not  less 
than  two  feet  in  width  by  five  feet  in  height  and  shall  be  con- 
structed of  wired  glass.  In  all  such  factories  all  exits  leading 
from  work  rooms  including  those  leading  to  outside  fire  escapes 
and  interior  stairways  shall  be  properly  indicated  by  posting  suit- 
able signs  thereat;  all  doors  and  sashes  of  windows  leading  to  fire 
escapes  shall  be  painted  with  red  paint;  access  to  outside  fire 
escapes  from  the  floor  on  which  they  are  located  and  from  the 
upper  to  the  lower  story  shall  not  be  obstructed  in  any  way;  there 
shall  be  free  and  easy  access  to  all  window  sills  leading  to  out- 
side fire  escapes,  and  if  the  distance  from  the  floor  to  such  window 
sill  is  more  than  two  and  one-half  feet  a  proper  step  or  steps 
leading  thereto  sufficient  for  free  access  and  passage  shall  "be  pro- 

'Should  be  four  feet  in  width. 


822  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

vided.  Stationary  stairs  or  ladders  shall  be  on  the  inside  of  every 
factory  from  the  upper  floor  to  the  roof  as  a  means  of  escape  in 
case  of  fire.  In  all  such  factories  where  more  than  twenty-five 
persons  are  employed  on  any  one  floor,  all  doors  and  door-ways 
on  such  floor  or  floors  leading  to  outside  fire  escapes  or  interior 
stair  ways  shall  be  not  less  than  three  feet  wide. 

3.  Operatives  in  a  factory  shall  be  so  placed  or  seated,  and 
machines,  machinery,  merchandise  and  other  articles  so  spaced  or 
arranged,  as  to  afford  to  each  and  every  employee  a  continuous, 
safe  and  unobstructed  passageway  to  every  exit  including  those 
leading  to  outside  fire  escapes  or  interior  stairways. 

4'  In  all  existing  factories  in  which  more  than  fifty  persons 
are  employed  above  the  ground  floor  or  first  floor  and  in  which  there 
are  unenclosed  wooden  stairways  or  stairways  unenclosed  by  walls 
or  partitions  of  fire  proof  construction,  such  stairways  shall  be 
properly  enclosed  by  partitions  of  fire  proof  or  fire  resisting  ma- 
terial with  doors  leading  from  the  workrooms  to  such  stairways 
of  suitable  fire  proof  construction,  in  the  form  and  manner  ap- 
proved in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  superintendent  of  build- 
ings and  fire  commissioner,  and  elsewhere,  by  the  commissioner  of 
labor,  and  the  local  officer,  if  any,  required  to  approve  plans  for 
the  construction  and  alteration  of  buildings.  There  shall  also  be 
erected  on  the  outside  of  all  such  factories  fire  escapes  constructed 
in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  subdivision  one  hereof. 

5.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  apply  throughout  the 
state,  but  the  jurisdiction  of  the  commissioner  of  labor  shall  not 
extend  to  the  enforcement  in  the  city  of  New  York  of  the  pro- 
visions of  subdivisions  one,  two  and  four.  The  commissioner  of 
labor  shall  have  power  to  make  rules  and  regulations  for  the  en- 
forcement of  subdivision  three  throughout  the  entire  state.  The 
provisions  of  subdivision  four  shall  be  complied  with  within  one 
year,  but  the  fire  commissioner  in  the  city  of  New  York,  and  the 
commissioner  of  labor,  elsewhere,  may,  for  good  cause  shown,  ex- 
tend such  time  for  a  further  period  not  exceeding  one  year.  In 
addition  to  the  remedy  provided  by  section  twelve  hundred  and 


D;i.!.S    SL'RMJTTK.n    TO    TI1M    LEGISLATURE.  823 

seventy-five  of  the  penal  law,  Hie  fire  commissioner  in  the  city  of 
New  York  in  enforcing  the  provisions  of  this  section  in  such  city 
shall  have  all  the  powers  conferred  upon  him  by  title  three  of 
chapter  fifteen  of  the  Greater  New  York  Charter.  In  addition  to  any 
other  remedy,  or  power,  elsewhere  in  the  state,  the  officer  having  au- 
thority to  enforce  the  provisions  of  this  section,  if  an  order  of  such 
officer  requiring  compliance  with  any  provision  hereof  be  not  com- 
plied with  within  twenty  days,  may  apply  to  the  supreme  court  at  a 
special  term  thereof,  upon  such  notice  as  the  court  shall  prescribe, 
for  an  order  directing  such  officer  to  vacate  the  factory,  or  so 
much  thereof  as  such  officer  may  deem  necessary,  and  prohibiting 
and  enjoining  all  persons  from  using  or  occupying  the  same  until 
such  measures  are  taken  as  may  be  required  by  the  order  of  such 
officer. 

§  3.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

V.     LIMITATION   OF   NUMBER   OF   OCCUPANTS   OF 
FACTORY  BUILDINGS. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor,  con- 
stituting chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  inserting  therein  *two  new  sections,  to  be  sections 
eighty-three-d  and  eighty-three-e  thereof,  to  read  as  follows: 

§  83-d.  Limitation  on  number  of  occupants.  The  number  of 
persons  who  may  occupy  any  floor  in  a  factory  above  the  ground 
or  first  floor  shall  be  as  follows: 

1.  Not  more  than  fourteen  persons  shall  be  employed  on  each 
floor  for  every  eighteen  inches  in  width  of  stairway  provided. 
For  every  additional  sixteen  inches  over  ten  feet  in  height  of  any 
•floor,  one  additional  person  shall  be  allowed  thereon. 

2.  Where  there  are  landing  places  inclosed  in  fireproof  walls  or 
fireproof  partitions  and  separated  from  the  workroom  or  loft  by 
fireproof  doors  of  standard  fireproof  construction,  such  additional 
persons  may  be  em/ployed  on  each  floor  as  will  be  accommodated 


824  BH-LS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

by  the  landing  place  or  places  aforesaid  on  the  basis  of  at  least 
three  square  feet  of  unobstructed  floor  space  in  such  landing  place 
to  each  person. 

3.  Where  a  fire  wall  or  walls  with  fireproof  doors  of  standard 
fireproof  construction  not  less  than  thirty-six  inches  in  width  are 
erected,  such  additional  number  of  persons  may  be  employed  on 
each  floor  as  can  be  accommodated  in  the  smaller  of  the  two\ 
spaces  divided  by  the  fire  wall  on  the  basis  of  at  least  three  square 
feet  of  unobstructed  floor  area  per  person;  provided  that  there 
shall  be  stairway  facilities  on  each  side  of  said  fire  wall  and  that 
the  clear  space  on  each  side  of  the  said  fire  wall  is  of  sufficient 
area  to  accommodate  the  occupants  of  the  adjoining  space  in  ad- 
dition to  its  own  occupants  on  the  basis  of  not  less  than  three 
square  feet  of  unobstructed  floor  area  per  person. 

4-  Where  fireproof  connections  are  made  with  an  adjoining  or 
nearby  building  either  by  an  opening  in  the  party  wall  having 
a  fireproof  door  of  standard  fireproof  construction  not  less  than 
thirty-six  inches  in  width,  or  by  fireproof  balconies  from  the  ex- 
terior connecting  the  factory  with,  an  adjoining  or  nearby  build- 
ing, such  additional  number  of  persons  may  be  permitted  on  each 
floor  as  can  be  accommodated  in  such  adjoining  or  nearby  build- 
ing allowing  three  square  feet  of  unobstructed  floor  area  per  per- 
son, provided  that  there  shall  be  stairway  facilities  in  such  ad- 
joining building  and  that  the  clear  space  in  such  building  be  of 
sufficient  area  to  accommodate  the  occupants  of  the  factory,  in 
addition  to  its  own  occupants,  on  the  basis  of  at  least  three  square 
feet  of  unobstructed  floor  area  per  person. 

5.  Double  the  number  of  persons  allowed  under  subdivision 
one  of  this  section  may  be  employed  on  each  floor  where  there  is 
constructed  or  installed  on  each  and  every  floor  of  the  factory 
building  an  automatic  sprinkler  system  in  the  form  and  manner 
approved  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the  fire  commissioner  of 
such  city,  and  elsewhere  in  the  state  by  the  state  fire  marshal. 

6.  There  shall  in  any  event  and  irrespective  of  the  preceding 
provisiortp  of  this  section  be  at  least  thirty-six  square  feet  of 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE.  825 

fto.ckr  space  on  each  and  every  floor  of  a  non-fireproof  factory 
building  for  every  person  employed  therein  and  at  least  thirty- 
two  square  feet  of  such  floor  space  per  person  in  a  fireproof 
building.  A  fireproof  building  is  one  that  is  constructed  so  that 
its  ivalls  are  of  brick,  stone  or  concrete;  its  floors  and  roofs  of 
brick,  terra  cotta,  reinforced  concrete,  or  other  approved  incom- 
bustible material  placed  between  steel  or  reinforced  concrete 
beams;  all  steel  entering  into  its  structural  parts  thoroughly  en- 
cased in  at  least  two  inches  of  fire  resisting  material;  its  interior 
partitions  entirely  of  incombustible  materials;  its  stairways  and 
stairway  landing  entirely  of  brick,  stone,  concrete,  iron  or  steel; 
and  all  stairways,  elevators  and  other  vertical  communications) 
between  floors  solidly  enclosed  in  shafts  of  fireproof  construction. 

7.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  be  complied  with  within 
one  year  after  it  takes  effect,  but  the  fire  commissioner  of  the  city 
of  New  York,  in  such  city,  and  the  state  fire  marshal*  elsewhere, 
may,  for  good  cause  shown,  extend  such  period  not  exceeding  one 
year. 

8.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  apply  throughout  the 
state  and  they  shall  be  enforced  in  the  city  of  New  York  by  the 
fire  commissioner  of  such  city,  and  elsewhere  in  the  state  by  the 
commissioner  of  labor.     In  addition  to  the  remedy  provided  by 
section  twelve  hundred  and  seventy-five  of  the  penal  law,  the  fire 
commissioner  in  the  city  of  New  York  in  enforcing  the  provisions 
of  this  section,  in  such  city,  shall  have  all  the  powers  conferred 
upon  him  by  title  three  of  chapter  fifteen  of  the  Greater  New 
York  charter.     Elsewhere  in  the  state,  in  addition  to  any  other 
remedy  or  power,  the  officer  having  authority  to  enforce  the  pro- 
visions of  this  section,  if  an  order  of  such  officer  requiring  com- 
pliance with  any  provision  hereof  be  not  complied  with  within 
twenty  days,  may  apply  to  the  supreme  court  at  a  special  term 
thereof,  upon  such  notice  as  the  court  shall  prescribe,  for  an  order 
directing  such  officer  to  vacate  the  factory  or  so  much  thereof 
as  such  officer  may  deem  necessary,  and  prohibiting  and  enjoining 
the  employment  therein  of  more  than  the  number  of  persons  speci- 
fied in  the  order  of  such  officer. 


•Should  be  Commissioner  of  Labor. 


Sl'll  BlLJ.S    Sl'UMITTED    TO    11IE    LEGISLATURE. 

§  tfj?  e.  Potting.  In  every  factory  in  which  more  than  fifty 
persons  are  <  //</  'eyed  above  the  ground  or  first  floor,  the  fire  com- 
missioner of  llid  city  of  New  York,  in  such  city,  and  the  commis- 
sioner of  labor  else;-' here  in  the  state  shall  cause  to  be  posted, 
notices  s^c-Afyinq  ilu  number  of  persons  that  may  occupy  each 
floor  thereof.  One  such  notice  shall  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place  near  the  entrance  door  to  each  floor  and  in  each  work- 
room. If  any  floor  is  occupied  by  more  than  one  tenant,  two  such 
notices  are  to  be  posted  in  the  space  occupied  by  each  tenant. 
Every  such  notice  shall  bear  the  date  when  posted.  If  more 
persons  occupy  any  floor  or  floors  than  are  specified  in  the  said 
notices,  the  fire  commissioner  of  the  city  of  New  York  and  the 
commissioner  of  labor,  as  the  case  may  be,  shall  issue  an  order 
to  the  tenant  or  tenants  thereof  and  to  the  owner  of  the  building 
directing  that  the  number  of  occupants  of  said  floor  or  floors  be 
reduced  to  the  number  specified  in  the  order. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

VI.     FIREPROOF  CONSTRUCTION   OF  FACTORY 
BUILDINGS  HEREAFTER  ERECTED. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nine- 
teen hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor,  consti- 
tuting chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  inserting  therein  a  new  section  to  be  section  eighty- 
three-f,  to  read  as  follows : 

§  88-f.  Construction  of  factory  buildings.  A  building  over 
two  stories  in  height  hereafter  erected  and  in  which  more  than 
twenty-five  persons  shall  be  employed  shall  not  be  used  for  factory 
purposes,  unless  such  building  be  of  fireproof  construction,  with 
the  floors,  doors,  trims,  partitions  and  entire  interior  finish  of  fire 
resisting  material.  If  a  building  be  used  as  a  factory  in  violation 
of  this  section  the  commissioner  of  labor  in  addition  to  any  other 
remedy  or  power  may  apply  to  the  supreme  court,  at  a  special 
term  thereof,  without  notice,  for  an  order  prohibiting  and  enjoin- 
ing all  persons  from  using  and  occupying  such  building  for  factory 
purposes. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE.  827 

VII.     UNCLEAR    FACTORIES.      SUMMARY   POWER 
FOR  COMMISSIONER  OF  LABOR. 

Section  1.  Section  ninety-five  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws 
of  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows: 

§  95.  Unclean  [tenant]  factories.  If  the  commissioner  of 
labor  finds  evidence  of  contagious  disease  in  any  [tenant]  fac- 
tory [in  which  any  of  the  articles  enumerated  in  section  one 
hundred  hereof  are  manufactured,  altered,  repaired  or  finished] 
he  shall  affix  to  any  [such]  articles  therein  exposed  to  such  con- 
tagion a  label  containing  the  word  "  unclean  "  and  shall  notify 
the  local  board  of  health,  who  may  disinfect  such  articles  and 
thereupon  remove  such  label.  If  the  commissioner  of  labor  finds 
that  [any  of  the  articles  specified  in  said  section  in]  any  work- 
room or  factory  [in  a  tenant  factory  which]  is  foul,  unclean, 
or  unsanitary,  he  may,  after  first  making  and  filing  in  the  public 
records  of  his  office  a  written  order  stating  the  reasons  therefor, 
affix  to  [such]  any  articles  therein  found  a  label  containing  the 
word  "  unclean."  No  one  but  the  commissioner  of  labor  shall 
remove  any  label  so  affixed ;  and  he  may  refuse  to  remove  it  until 
such  articles  shall  have  been  removed  from  such  factory  and 
cleaned,  or  until  such  room  or  rooms  shall  have  been  cleaned 
or  made  sanitary. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

VIII.     REGISTRATION  OF  FACTORIES. 

Section  1.  Article  six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  lawrs  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to .  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  by  inserting  therein  immediately  preceding  section 
seventy  a  new  section,  to  be  section  sixty-nine,  to  read  as  follows: 

§  69.  Registration  of  factories.  The  owner  of  every  factory 
shall  register  such  factory  with  the  state  department  of  labor, 
giving  the  name  of  the  owner,  his  home  address,  the  address  of 


828  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

the  business,  the  name  under  which  it  is  carried  on,  the  number  of 
employees  and  such  other  data  as  the  commissioner  of  labor  may 
require.  Such  registration  of  existing  factories  shall  be  made 
within  six  months  after  this  section  takes  effect.  Factories  here- 
after established  shall  be  so  registered  within  thirty  days  after  the 
commencement  of  business.  Within  thirty  days  after  a  change  in 
the  location  of  a  factory  the  owner  thereof  shall  file  with  the  com- 
missioner of  labor  the  new  address  of  the  business,  together  with 
such  other  information  as  the  commissioner  of  labor  may  require. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

IX.     WASHING   FACILITIES   AND   EATING   IN  FAC- 
TORIES USING  POISONOUS  SUBSTANCES. 

Section  1.  Section  eighty-eight  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the 
laws  of  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to 
labor,  constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws," 
as  amended  by  chapter  two  hundred,  and  twenty-nine  of  the  laws 
of  nineteen  hundred  and  ten,  is  hereby  amended  to  read  as  follows : 

§  88.  Drinking  water,  wash-room  and  water-closets.  In  every 
factory  there  shall  be  provided  at  all  times  for  the  use  of  em- 
ployees, a  sufficient  supply  of  clean  and  pure  drinking  water. 
Such  water  shall  be  supplied  through  proper  pipe  connections  with 
water  mains  through  which  is  conveyed  the  water  used  for  domes- 
tic purposes,  or,  from  a  spring  or  well  or  body  of  pure  water;  if 
such  drinking  water  be  placed  in  receptacles  in  the  factory,  such 
receptacles  shall  be  properly  covered  to  prevent  contamination  and 
shall  be  thoroughly  cleaned  at  frequent  intervals.  In  every  fac- 
tory there  shall  be  provided  and  maintained  for  the  use  of  em- 
ployees, suitable  and  convenient  wash-rooms,  adequately  equipped 
with  sinks  and  proper  water  service;  and  in  all  factories  where 
lead,  arsenic  or  other  poisonous  substances  or  injurious  or  noxious 
fumes,  dust  or  gases  are  present  as  an  incident  or  result  of  the  busi- 
ness or  processes  conducted  by  such  factory  there  shall  be  provided 
washing  facilities  which  shall  include  hot  water  and  individual 
towels.  Where  females  are  employed,  dressing  or  emergency 
rooms  shall  be  provided  for  their  use ;  each  such  room  shall  have  at 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE.  829 

least  one  window  opening  to  the  outer  air  and  shall  be  enclosed  by 
means  of  solid  partitions  or  walls.  In  brass  and  iron  foundries 
suitable  provision  shall  be  made  and  maintained  for  drying  the 
working  clothes  of  persons  employed  therein.  In  every  factory 
there  shall  be  provided  suitable  and  convenient  water-closets  for 
each  sex,  in  such  number  as  the  commissioner  of  labor  may  deter- 
mine. Such  water-closets  shall  be  properly  screened,  lighted,  ven- 
tilated and  kept  clean  and  sanitary;  the  enclosure  of  each  closet 
shall  be  kept  clean  and  sanitary  and  free  from  all  obscene  writing 
or  marking.  The  water-closets  used  by  females  shall  be  entirely 
separated  from  those  used  by  males  and  the  entrances  thereto  shall 
be  effectively  screened.  The  water-closets  shall  be  maintained  in- 
side the  factory  whenever  practicable  and  in  all  cases,  when  re- 
quired by  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

§  2.  Such  chapter  is  hereby  amended  by  adding  thereto,  after 
section  eighty-nine,  a  new  section,  to  be  section  eighty-nine-a,  to 
read  as  follows: 

§  89-a.  Prohibition  against  eating  meals  in  certain  workrooms. 
No  employee  shall  take  or  be  permitted  to  take  any  food  into  a 
room  or  apartment  in  a  factory,  mercantile  establishment,  mill  or 
workshop,  commercial  institution  or  other  establishment  or  work- 
ing place  where  lead,  arsenic  or  other  poisonous  substances  or  in- 
jurious or  noxious  fumes,  dust  or  gases  exist  in  harmful  conditions 
or  are  present  in  harmful  quantities  as  an  incident  or  result  of  the 
business  conducted  by  such  factory,  commercial  establishment,  mill 
or  workshop,  commercial  institution  or  other  establishment  or 
working  place;  and  notice  to  the  foregoing  effect  shall  be  posted  in 
each  such  room,  or  apartment.  No  employee,  unless  his  presence 
is  necessary  for  the  proper  conduct  of  the  business,  shall  remain  in 
any  such  room,  apartment  or  enclosure  during  the  time  allowed  for 
meals,  and  suitable  provision  shall  be  made  and  maintained  by  the 
employer  for  enabling  employees  to  take  their  meals  elsewhere  in 
such  establishment. 

§  3.  This  act  shall  take  effect  October  first,  nineteen  hundred 
and  twelve. 


830  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUEE. 

X.     VENTILATION      WHERE      DUST      GASES      AND 
FUMES  ARE  GENERATED. 

Section  1.  Section  eighty-six  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws 
of  nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows: 

§  86.  Ventilation.  The  owner,  agent  or  lessee  of  a  factory 
shall  provide,  in  each  workroom  thereof,  proper  and  sufficient 
means  of  ventilation,  and  shall  maintain  proper  and  sufficient 
ventilation ;  if  excessive  heat  be  created  or  if  steam,  gases,  vapors, 
dust  or  other  impurities  that  may  be  injurious  to  health  be  gen- 
erated in  the  course  of  the  manufacturing  process  carried  on 
therein  proper  hoods  and  pipes  connected  with  an  exhaust  fan 
of  sufficient  capacity  and  power  to  remove  such  dust  or  impurities 
at  their  point  of  origin  and  prevent  them  from  mingling  with 
the  air  in  the  room,  shall  be  provided.  Such  fan  shall  be  kept 
running  constantly  while  the  dust,  gases  and  fumes  are  being- 
generated,  [the  room  must  be  ventilated  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
render  theni  harmless,  so  far  as  is  practicable;  in]  In  case  of 
failure  the  commissioner  of  labor  shall  order  such  ventilation  to 
be  provided.  Such  owner,  agent  or  lessee  shall  provide  such  ven- 
tilation within  twenty  days  after  the  service  upon  him  of  such 
order,  and  in  case  of  failure,  shall  forfeit  to  the  people  of  the 
state,  ten  dollars  for  each  day  after  the  expiration  of  such  twenty 
days,  to  be  recovered  by  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

XL     BAKERIES,    LICENSING.      NEW    CELLAR 
BAKERIES    PROHIBITED. 

Section  1.  Article  eight  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor,  con- 
stituting chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  as  amended 
by  chapter  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  of  the  laws  of  nineteen 
hundred  and  eleven,  is  hereby  amended  by  inserting  therein  a  new 
section,  to  be  section  one  hundred  and  eleven-a,  to  read  as  follows : 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE.  831 

§  111-a.  Licensing  of  bakeries.  1.  Every  bakery,  except  as 
provided  in  this  section,  shall  be  licensed  by  the  state  department 
of  labor.  Application  for  such  license  shall  be  made  to  the  com- 
missioner of  labor  by  the  owner  of  such  bakery,  or  by  his  duly  au- 
thorized agent,  staling  the  full  name  and  address  of  the  owner  of 
such  bakery,  the  location  thereof  and  such  other  facts  as  the  com- 
missioner of  labor  may  require.  The  application  shall  be  in  such 
form  as  the  commissioner  of  labor  may  determine  and  blank  appli- 
cations shall  be  prepared  and  furnished  by  him. 

2.  Upon  the  receipt  of  sui.<.  application  the  commissioner  of 
labor  shall  cau$<-  a  copy  thereof  to  be  transmitted  to  the  der.-nhund 
of  health,  board  of  health  or  other  board  or  officer  re*tca  inih  the 
authority  of  enforcing  the  health  laws  in  the  ct'</,  town  or  village 
in  which  the  bakery  is  located  Such  department  of  health,  board 
of  health  or  other  bo-ird  or  officer  shall  forthwith  cause  an  inspec- 
tion to  be  made  of  such  bakery.  If  it  is  found  in  a  sanitary  con- 
dition and  complies  witli  the  local  health  ordinances,  orders  and 
regulations,  such  department,  board  or  officer  shall  file  a  certificate 
of  approval  to  that  cf;^ft  with  fhe  state  commissioner  of  labor.  If 
such  certificate  be  refused,  a  statement  of  the  reasons  therefor  shall 
in  like  manrj-r  be  filed  with  the  commissioner  of  labor. 

S.  i'pon  the  receipt  of  an  application  for  a  license  under  this 
se<tt-  a.  the  commissioner  of  labor  shall,  within  thirty  days  there- 
finer,  cause  an  inspection  to  be  made  of  such  bakery.  If  after 
such  inspection  he  determine  that  the  bakery  complies  with  the  re- 
(]i(nement>  and  provisions  of  this  chapter,  anfi  the  certificate  of  ap- 
proval hereinbefore  required  has  been  filed  wits;  him,  the  commis- 
sioner of  labor  shall  issue  a  license  therefor.  Such  licence  <li-ill  be 
for  one  year  and  shall  be  annually  renewcj 

4-  Such  a  license  may  be  revoked  by  the  commissioner  of  lal'>r 
if  at  any  time  an  order  of  the  commissioner  requiring  compliance 
with  any  of  the  provisions  of  this  chapter  be  not  :  »<p'!icd  with 
urithin  ten  days,  or  if  the  bakery  is  not  in  a  proper  S'lrtilary  condi- 
tion or  the  health  of  the  community  or  cf  the  emphyees  require  it. 
If  a  license  be  revoked  or  denied  by  flic  commissioner  of  labor,  ihc 


832  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

reasons  therefor  shall  be  stated  in  writing  and  filed  in  his  office, 
and  the  records  of  such  revocation  or  denial  shall  be  deemed  public 
records.  A  license  when  issued  shall  be  posted  in  a  conspicuous 
place  in  the  bakery. 

5.  No,  existing  bakery  shall  be  conducted  without  a  license  after 
the  first  day  of  October,  nineteen  hundred  and  twelve.    An  applica- 
tion for  a  license  for  such  a  bakery  shall  be  made  within  thirty 
days  after  this  section  takes  effect.    If  a  new  bakery  be  established 
application  for  a  license  shall  be  made  within  thirty  days  there- 
after, and  such  a  bakery  shall  not  be  conducted  without  a  license 
after  the  expiration  of  sixty  days  from  the  establishment  thereof. 

6.  A  bakery  shall  not  be  located  in  a  cellar  and  a  license  shall 
not  be  issued  for  a  bakery  so  located,  unless  established  and  main- 
tained as  such  at  the  time  this  section  takes  effect. 

7.  If  a  bakery  be  not  licensed  as  required  by  this  section,  the 
commissioner  of  labor  shall  forthwith  fasten  up  and  seal  the  oven 
and  other  apparatus  in  such  bakery  in  the  manner  provided  by 
section  one  hundred  and  fourteen  of  this  chapter,  and  such  seals 
shall  not  be  removed  or  the  premises  used  as  a  bakery  until  a 
license  therefor  has  been  obtained  pursuant  to  this  section. 

8.  The  provisions  of  this  section  shall  not  apply  to  hotels,  res- 
taurants or  boarding  houses. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

XII.     SEATS  FOR  WOMEN  EMPLOYEES. 

Section  1.  Section  seventeen  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to  labor,  con- 
stituting chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows: 

§  17.  Seate  for  female  employees.  Every  person  employing 
females  in  a  factory  or  as  waitresses  in  a  hotel  or  restaurant  shall 
provide  and  maintain  suitable  seats  with  backs  at  an  angle  of  not 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUBE.  833 

less  than  one  hundred  degrees  for  the  use  of  such  female  em- 
ployees, and  permit  the  use  thereof  by  such  employees  to  such  an 
extent  as  may  be  reasonable  for  the  preservation  of  their  health. 
Wherever  practicable  or  where  processes  are  adapted  to  a  sitting 
posture,  suitable  seats  with  backs  at  an  angle  of  not  less  than  one 
/ttnidrcd  degrees  shall  be  supplied  for  the  use  of  all  female  wn- 
ployees  while  at  work. 

§  2.  This  act  shall  take,  effect  October  first,  nineteen  hundred 
and  twelve. 

XIII.     EMPLOYMENT  OF  WOMEN  AFTEK  CHILD- 
BIRTH. 

Section  1.  Chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred 
and  nine,  entitled  "An  act  relating  to  labor,  constituting  chapter 
thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby  amended  by  adding 
thereto,  after  section  ninety-three,  a  new  section,  to  be  section 
ninety-three-a,  to  read  as  follows: 

§  93-a.  Employment  of  females  after  childbirth  prohibited. 
It  shall  be  unlawful  for  the  owner,  proprietor,  manager,  foreman 
or  other  person  in  authority  of  any  factory,  mercantile  estab- 
lishment, or  mill  or  workshop  to  knowingly  employ  a-  female  or 
permit  a  female  to  be  employed  therein  within  four  weeks  after 
she  lias  given  birth  to  a  child. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

XIV.     EMPLOYMENT  OF  CHILDREN.     PHYSICIANS' 
CERTIFICATE. 

Section  1.  Subdivision  (e)  including  the  ensuing  final  para- 
graph of  section  seventy-one  of  chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of 
nineteen  hundred  and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to  labor, 
constituting  chapter  thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby 
amended  to  read  as  follows: 

(e)     Physicians'  certificates.    In  cities  of  the  first  class  only,  in 
case  application  for  the  issuance  of  an  employment  certificate 
shall  be  made  to  such  officer  by  a  child's  parent,  guardian  or  cus- 
27 


834  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

todian  who  alleges  his  inability  to  produce  any  of  the  evidence  of 
age  specified  in  the  preceding  subdivisions  of  this  section,  and  if 
the  child  is  apparently  at  least  fourteen  years  of  age,  such  officer 
may  receive  and  file  an  application  signed  by  the  parent,  guardian 
or  custodian  of  such  child  for  physicians'  certificates.  Such  ap- 
plication shall  contain  the  alleged  age,  place  and  date  of  birth, 
and  present  residence  of  such  child,  together  with  such  further 
facts  as  may  be  of  assistance  in  determining  the  age  of  such  child. 
Such  application  shall  be  filed  for  not  less  than  ninety  days  after 
date  of  such  application  for  such  physicians'  certificate,  for  an 
examination  to  be  made  of  the  statements  contained  therein,  and 
in  case  no  facts  appear  within  such  period  or  by  such  examination 
tending  to  discredit  or  contradict  any  material  statement  of  such 
application,  then  and  not  otherwise  the  officer  may  direct  such 
child  to  appear  thereafter  for  physical  examination  before  two 
physicians  officially  designated  by  the  board  of  health,  and  in  case 
such  physicians  shall  certify  in  writing  that  they  have  separately 
examined  such  child  and  that  in  their  opinion  such  child  is  at  least 
fourteen  years  of  age  such  officer  shall  accept  such  certificates  as 
sufficient  proof  of  the  age  of  such  child  for  the  purposes  of  this 
section.  In  case  the  opinions  of  such  physicians  do  not  concur, 
the  child  shall  be  examined  by  a  third  physician  and  the  con- 
curring opinion  shall  be  conclusive  for  the  purpose  of  this  section 
as  to  the  age  of  such  child. 

Such  officer  shall  require  the  evidence  of  age  specified  in  sub- 
division (a)  in  preference  to  that  specified  in  any  subsequent  sub- 
division and  shall  not  accept  the  evidence  of  age  permitted  by  any 
subsequent  subdivision  unless  he  shall  receive  and  file  in  addition 
thereto  an  affidavit  of  the  parent  showing  that  no  evidence  of  age 
specified  in  any  preceding  subdivision  or  subdivisions  of  this  sec- 
tion can  be  produced.  Such  affidavit  shall  contain  the  age,  place 
and  date  of  birth,  and  present  residence  of  such  child,  which  affi- 
davit must  be  taken  before  the  officer  issuing  the  employment  cer- 
tificate, who  is  hereby  authorized  and  required  to  administer  such 
oath  and  who  shall  not  demand  or  receive  a  fee  therefor.  Such 
employment  certificate  shall  not  be  issued  until  such  child  further 
has  personally  appeared  before  and  been  examined  by  the  officer 
issuing  the  certificate,  and  until  such  officer  shall,  after  making 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUEE.  835 

such  examination,  sign  and  file  in  his  office  a  statement  that  the 
child  can  read  and  legibly  write  simple  sentences  in  the  English 
language  and  that  in  his  opinion  the  child  is  fourteen  years  of  age 
or  upwards  and  has  reached  the  normal  development  of  a  child  of 
its  age,  and  is  in  sound  health  and  is  physically  able  to  perform 
the  work  which  it  intends  to  do.  [In  doubtful  cases  such  physical 
fitness  shall  be  determined  by  a  medical  officer  of  the  board  or  de- 
partment of  health.]  Every  such  employment  certificate  shall  be 
signed,  in  the  presence  of  the  officer  issuing  the  same,  by  the  child 
in  whose  name  it  is  issued.  In  every  case,  before  an  employment 
certificate  is  issued,  such  physical  fitness  shall  be  determined  by 
a  medical  officer  of  the  department  or  board  of  health,  who  shall 
make  a  thorough  physical  examination  of  the  child  and  record  the 
result  thereof  on  a  blank  to  be  furnished  for  the  purpose  by  the 
state  commissioner  of  labor  and  shall  set  forth  thereon  such  facts 
concerning  the  physical  condition  and  history  of  the  child  as  the 
commissioner  of  labor  may  require. 

§  2.  Section  seventy-five  of  such  chapter  is  hereby  amended  to 
read  as  follows: 

§  75.  Report  of  certificates  issued.  The  board  or  department 
of  health  or  health  commissioner  of  a  city,  village  or  town,  shall 
transmit,  between  the  first  and  tenth  day  of  each  month,  to  the 
office  of  the  commissioner  of  labor  a  list  of  the  .names  of  the  chil- 
dren to  whom  certificates  have  been  issued,  together  vsith  a  dupli- 
cate of  the  record  of  the  physical  examination  of  all  such  children 
made  as  hereinbefore  provided. 

§  3.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 

V 

XV.    BRASS  STEEL  AND  IRON  FOUNDRIES. 

Section  1.  Chapter  thirty-six  of  the  laws  of  nineteen  hundred 
and  nine,  entitled  "  An  act  relating  to  labor,  constituting  chapter 
thirty-one  of  the  consolidated  laws,"  is  hereby  amended  by  in- 
serting therein  a  new  section,  to  be  section  ninety-seven,  to  read 
as  follows: 


836  BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE. 

§  97.  Brass,  iron  and  steel  foundries.  1.  All  entrances  to 
foundries  shall  l>o  so  constructed  and  maintained  as  to  minimize 
drafts,  and  all  windows  therein  sJiall  lie  maintained  in  proper 
condition  and  repair. 

2.  All  passageways  in  foundries  sliall  be  constructed  and  main- 
tained of  sufficient  width  to  make  the  use  thereof  by  employees 
reasonably  safe;  during  the  progress  of  casting  such  passageways 
shall  not  be  obstructed  in  any  manner. 

3.  Smoke,  steam  and  gases  generated  in  foundries  shall  be 
promptly  and  effectively  removed  therefrom,  and  whenever  it  is 
necessary,  exhaust  fans  of  sufficient  capacity  and  power,  prop- 
erly equipped  with  piping  and  hoods,  shall  be  provided  and  oper- 
ated to  remove  such  smoke,  steam  and  gases.     The  milling  and 
cleaning  of  castings  shall  be  done  in  rooms  not  otherwise  used 
during  the  progress  of  such  milling  or  cleaning  and  provision 
shall  be  made  for  confining  and  collecting  the  dust  arising  during 
the  process. 

4.  All  foundries  shall  be  properly  and  thoroughly  lighted  dur- 
ing working  hours  and  in  cold  weather  proper  and  sufficient  heat 
shall  be  provided  and  maintained  therein.     The  use  of  heaters  dis- 
charging smoke  or  gas  into  workrooms  is  prohibited.     In  every 
foundry  employing  five  or  more  molders  there  shall  be  provided 
and  maintained  for  the  use  of  employees  therein  suitable  and 
convenient  washrooms  adequately  equipped  with  proper  hot  and 
cold  water  service;  such  washrooms  shall  be  kept  clean  and  sani- 
tary and  shall  be  properly  heated  during  cold  weather.    Lockers 
shall  be  provided  for  the  safe-keeping  of  employees'  clothing  and 
proper  facilities  shall  be  provided  for  drying  the  working  clothes 
of  employees.     Water-closets  used  by  foundry  employees  shall 
be  so  arranged  or  located  that  such  employees  in  passing  thereto 
or  therefrom  shall  not  be  exposed  to  outdoor  atmosphere,  and 
swch  water  closets  shall  be  properly  heated  during  cold  weather. 

5.  The  flasks,  molding  machines,  ladles,  cranes  and  apparatus 
for  transporting  molten  metal  in  foundries  shall  be  maintained 


BILLS  SUBMITTED  TO  THE  LEGISLATUKE.  837 

in  proper  condition  and  repair,  and  any  such  tools  or  implements 
that  are  defective  shall  not  be  used  until  properly  repaired.  There 
shall  be  in  every  foundry,  available  for  immediate  use,  an  ample 
supply  of  lime-water,  olive  oil,  vaseline,  bandages  and  absorbent 
cotton,  to  meet  the  needs  of  workmen  in  case  of  burns  or  other 
accidents;  and  any  other  equally  efficacious  remedy  for  burns  may 
be  substituted  for  tliose  herein  prescribed. 

§  2.     This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


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